Lover Forgiven
by Luna 24601
Summary: Victoria Bishop has lived her life defying her family's dark legacy. Then Mehrcy, former member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, falls into her world and turns everything upside down. Now she must choose to finish the task bestowed upon her family from the Scribe Virgin or follow her heart. Second installment to Lover Destined.
1. Chapter 1

Lover Forgiven

Chapter One

The Pack was completely packed tonight. It was a Friday night which meant there were people ready to let off steam they held in for the whole week and make room for the next round of steam. All the table were full, people were dancing on the dance floor, staff was running around to keep up with the orders and the band was playing there was no tomorrow.

Because they were short on hands, Sam was behind the bar helping out the girls. Of course, they weren't his regular girls. Lhyra and Annahbeth were given the night off while Ehmma was still on leave. The female had her young a few months ago and Sam knew it was best she spent time with her newly born daughter. The mansion had been in an uproar over the little girl that the males had been seen at the bar after their hunt lately. Well, except Phride. He was always with his _shellan _and daughter.

Since the Brothers weren't at The Pack tonight, Sam stayed focused on the human customers. Racing around the bar trying to get the drinks out, his mind failed to register the door opening and closing. His first thought was that another party just entered. Taking a split second to look over the heads to see if he needed to clear a table, he almost dropped the martini he was making.

A familiar face stood at the doorway. The last time Sam saw the woman was two years ago and that was right around the time of Nightmahre and Gabrielle's mating ceremony. She had left a voice message on his phone that she was leaving town and wouldn't be back for a few years. Friday nights hadn't been the same after his famous violinist left.

Giving the patient customer their drink, Sam threw up the counter latch and practically ran over to Victoria Bishop.

Throwing his arms around her and giving her a big hug, she hugged her friend back. She looked the same that it felt like she never left. Her light blond hair framed her face in wispy waves and curled around the nape of her neck since it was so short. When Sam pulled back, Victoria's deep blue eyes looked so deep that he thought he was looking into the sea. Under the leather boots, skinny jeans, black tub top and brown leather jacket was a body every model would die for she was tall and slim without trying.

"Bloody hell!" cheered Sam. "Look who's alive and kicking. Damn, Victoria. It's good to see you."

"Good to see you, too," replied Victoria.

"God, you have got to tell me what happened. I mean, you just left out of the blue for two whole years. Do you have any idea how many customers I lost simply because you weren't here?" He stopped for a second. "Hell! You got a record, didn't you? Some agent found you and you finally got to play your violin big time. Damn!"

Victoria brought up her hands in front of her for him to slow down. Then she pointed to the bar under siege by customers. Agreeing to tell him her trip when things calmed down, she followed Sam back to the bar where he helped his staff meet their orders.

Things continued to stay hectic until it was three hours before closing time. It was around there when people started leaving. The band had finished their rock music and had settle with a little salsa music for people who still had it in them to dance. Half of the bar was empty that it only required one girl to handle it and the others went to take the last orders. When Sam managed to get away, he led Victoria to his office where they could talk in private.

Closing the door right behind her, Victoria took one of the chairs facing Sam's desk. Sam plopped down in the wheel chair behind his desk and propped his feet on the desk before releasing a sight of relieve. Taking a moment to sort out the craziness that just happened, he dropped his feet and leaned on the desk.

"So? Where you been?"

"Down in New Orleans."

"New Orleans? You were in Louisiana for two years?"

"Yeah. You see, I got a chance to perform down there and I took it. At first it was a blast. But I eventually got bored at the place I was playing at and started playing wherever. Lots of clubs and bars took me in and I played in the square."

"So it wasn't an agent?"

"Nope. Just some guy who asked if I wanted to make more money. Things are hard for a violinist who doesn't have a degree from a big school in music. But I had fun. People liked hearing me play. Clubs and bars tried to book me before someone else got their claws on me. I would've stayed if I hadn't gotten a little homesick."

As Victoria spoke, she watched as Sam listened. He believed every word she said that he muttered a curse about the bastard who took her from his bar. One of the many things Victoria missed was Sam's temper. He could be cool one second and blow a gasket the next. She really did miss the guy.

Too bad he didn't know the real reason why she left.

Burying her secret away, she decided to turn the tables on him. Sam didn't waste time when he talked. He talked about how popular The Pack became, his messed-up sleep time that he would find him sound asleep during the afternoon, keeping up with bills and paying the new employees he recruited and finding new bands willing to play. All in all, Sam hadn't changed over the years.

When Sam asked if Victoria was staying in Caldwell, she told him that she had moved back in her old place and would see when she could come back to perform when a waitress knocked on the door. It was clear that Sam wanted to get back with his friend. But he was also the owner of the bar and had to see things through. Giving him an understanding smile, Victoria waved goodbye as Sam went to go see what the problem was.

Since it was close to closing, Victoria managed to find her way to the back door and breathed in the cold air. She was alone in the alley behind the bar. It was early November in Caldwell which meant that snow wasn't far away. The temperature had already dropped that Victoria could see her breath every time she breathed. Even though she wasn't wearing warm clothes, the cold didn't faze her one bit. To her, it was a warm night that all she needed was her jacket.

Stretching her arms above her head, she opened her mouth and yawned. She had arrived in the city barely two hours ago. There was hardly anything to unpack since she didn't own much. After putting things back in their proper spot, Victoria had jumped in her ride and sped down to see Sam. The problem was her ride was parked three blocks away from The Pack. A violinist who performs on the streets and bars would never had the money to afford a 918 Spyder and yet Victoria did.

She so didn't want to get into detail over her car with Sam. Or that she owned a penthouse when he thought she lived in a crappy apartment.

Her life was complicated as it was. Victoria worked her whole life to prove she was different than her family only to catch herself in their footsteps every once and a while. Every Bishop woman had one thing to do in their life and it was Victoria's duty to carry on what her ancestors had been doing for centuries.

Shaking her head, Victoria brushed aside the reason why she left Caldwell and started making her way to the sidewalk. Her hand instantly grabbed hold of the dumpster. Something so powerful slammed right in Victoria's chest that she nearly doubled over if she hadn't steadied herself.

Panting like she had been punched, Victoria found the control she had worked on for nine years and banished the feeling inside her. She knew too well what would happen if she loosened her control over it. It had let her off easy with her mom. There wouldn't be a second chance. It was this very feeling why Victoria left to New Orleans. It had been place where she found her control and returning helped her strengthen her control over the feeling that was trying to overtake her.

Right when Victoria picked up her head to take a steady breath, a gust of wind blew from behind followed up by trash bins falling over. The feeling was replaced by fear. Victoria was the only person in the alley. Her mind told her that a cat might've knocked over the bins and that she should walk off. But another part ordered her to turn around. It was the Bishop in her that demanded that she turn around that very instant.

Unable to ignore the command, Victoria turned very slowly. A light that hanged above the door illuminated the alley enough for her eyes to adjust. Scanning the area, she found the bins toppled over with their contents all over the ground. There wasn't a cat to be seen.

There was, however, a leg sticking behind the bins.

Victoria took cautious steps as she approached the leg. Whatever air she reclaimed escaped through her gasp. Slumped over the brick wall and against the bins was a man. Going down to her knees in one fluent movement, Victoria checked to see if he was alright. The man was covered in black leather and wore a long black trench coat that he almost camouflaged in the alley. His face and lower body was covered in pitch black hair while parts managed to stay in its ponytail. The man's hair was so long that it rested at his waist and continued to his mid-thigh.

And he was huge. Not Sam huge who was about five-eleven. The man had to be at least six-six or bigger. His body was totally ripped that Victoria caught glimpses of his muscles through his shredded clothes. That's when she noticed he was covered in blood. And majority of it was his.

"Hey!" she called. "Dude, wake up!"

When he didn't, she slapped him on the face and his eyelids shifted. Feeling him take a heavy breath under her palm, his eyes parted open a bit for Victoria to see they were bright gray. They were so bright that it almost looked like his eyes possessed light of their own.

He lifted his hand and touched Victoria's cheek. Logic told her to back away and call for help. But her body refused to move when his hand made contact. Once his fingers caressed her cheek, the feeling exploded inside her like never before. Just by the way how the feeling reacted to him told Victoria everything.

After all these years, he still looked the same.

"Fuck," Victoria muttered.

When Victoria stood up, the man dropped his hand and passed out. Victoria wasn't a fool. She saw the man had a few daggers strapped to his legs and some on his chest and something long secured around his waist. The man was nothing but trouble.

It seemed trouble finally found its way to her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Last Meal was lively.

With everyone at the table, the Brothers talked and laughed out loud while trying to eat. The females talked amongst themselves or slapped their _hellrens _whenever their food slipped onto theirs. On the opposite side were the four brothers with their _shellans_. It had been two years since they had joined and now one of them had started a family.

Nightmahre looked at his brothers. Phride was holding Rhose in his arms as Ehmma fed their daughter. His little brother was still learning the ropes on handling a young while Ehmma did so at ease. And she had the females to ask if needed. Ehnvy sat in his chair with Annahbeth sitting on his lap. The two would either be kissing each other or eating. The males moaned and demanded that they got a room. Then they all moaned out loud when Annahbeth linked her arms around her _hellren's _neck and pulled him down to her lips. As for Nightmahre's other brother, Sohrrow pulled Lhyra to him and she wrapped herself around him.

Nightmahre smiled. He remembered when he and his brothers arrived in Caldwell to hunt the _lessers_. It had been easy killing the enemy while it was hard avoiding the Black Dagger Brotherhood. But eventually, they got caught and were offered a choice in joining. Nightmahre wasn't too keen on joining but he did for his brothers. It was hard for him for a while until he fully accepted the role.

Besides, there was someone who made it pretty hard not to join.

Sitting right next to him with his arm placed around her shoulders was Gabrielle Seeing Bird. Nightmahre remembered when he first saw his _shellan_. He had seen her in the bar called The Pack and she became his world. His Cheyenne female was a trained soldier and a descendent of the great Dog Soldiers. She had proven herself as a warrior when she saved the Brothers and other countless times. The Brothers were nervous at first because she was human and had the ability to see into the future. They were also nervous about the fact that she wasn't the only one who knew about them and their war against the _Lessing Society_.

It turned out the owner of The Pack was part of Gabrielle's old unit and closest friend. She and Sam had done some damage in their time against the _lessers _before disappearing. Sam busied himself with his bar and Gabrielle went back to Wyoming. Then Nightmahre came to town with his brothers and she was called back after five years.

Looking at Gabrielle, she had her hair tied in a ponytail and her bangs framed around her brown eyes. She still wore her buffalo chocker and her dog tags dangled on their silver chain around her neck. When Nightmahre looked further down, Gabrielle looked up and caught his eyes. They had been together for only two years and it was like she knew when he was looking at her. She had developed that gift right after she lost her ability to see the future.

Gabrielle had died protecting him against the leader of the band of bastards and would've stayed dead if her father hadn't taken her spot. With him dead and the balance set, Gabrielle was brought back to life. But before she came back, she told Nightmahre that the Scribe Virgin offered her a deal. Her father had seen his daughter's future with Nightmahre and the Scribe Virgin helped made it true.

In return to live with her male forever, she had to give up her ability.

No longer able to see the future, Gabrielle would stay by Nightmahre's side. He had seen the strain it put on her. But after a couple of weeks, Gabrielle managed to adjust without her sixth sense. Now she had another one to replace it because a smirk formed on her lips. Nightmahre smirked back and pulled his female closer. However, he had to be careful in doing so. When Gabrielle was basically sharing his seat, Nightmahre placed a gentle hand on her swollen stomach.

Under his touch he could feel a soft kick.

Gabrielle was pregnant with his young.

It was only five months ago when Nightmahre found Gabrielle hunched over a toilet throwing up. His first thought was she was sick. But when she started to get picky about food and continued to throw up almost every morning, he had Jane check her to find out she was pregnant. Everyone was worried. But not Gabrielle and Nightmahre. When the others saw their joy, they quickly dismissed the worry.

Christopher, Gabrielle's father, had said he had seen her with Nightmahre and their children in the future. Nightmahre was skeptical at first. He had learned being with Gabrielle that the future could be changed. But it seemed it was one of those futures that couldn't be changed no matter what. In four months, Gabrielle would give birth to their first child.

"There he goes again," laughed Gabrielle.

"We still don't know what it is yet," Nightmahre murmured.

"Well, I say it's a boy. He keeps kicking around every time you touch my stomach."

Laughing to himself, Nightmahre pulled back his hand and tilted Gabrielle's chin up. Taking her lips, he kissed her. Raking her fingers through his hair, she pulled him closer to deepen the kiss.

In the distance there was a faint ring. It had to be V's because he answered. Then he almost dropped his phone and cursed out loud. Nightmahre pulled back and looked at the Brother. In fact, everyone looked over. Getting a firm hold on the device, V put the phone on speaker.

"Damn, Sam. Why the hell are you yelling?" asked Vishous as he rubbed his ear.

"Don't fucking Sam me! Opening the fucking gates or I'm going to ram them down!"

Something about the human's tone was off. Everyone could tell because they were shifting in their seats. Gabrielle's eyes were zeroed in on the phone after hearing her friend yell hysterically.

"Sam," called Gabrielle, "what's the situation?"

"Gabrielle! Get those damn gates open! I have a male bleeding in the back of my truck and he's in bad shape." He was cut off for a second and the sound of a car blaring was heard. "Fuck you, asshole! Fuck! Get those fucking gates open! I'm coming in hot and I can't count on these brakes to lessen my impact. Just get those gates open!"

When Sam ended the call, V was on it. He dematerialized out of his seat and was probably in the Pit right now opening the gates that led to the mansion. Jane and Manny ran off to the stairs that led to the tunnels and to the infirmary to get everything ready. The Brothers were jumped up at the same time followed by their females and were making their way to downstairs as well to the garage in preparation for the human.

Sohrrow and the others were already out. Nightmahre had to wait for Gabrielle who couldn't run. But the look on her face told him something must've been bad for her friend to yell like that.

"Bring back memories," he asked as they followed the other.

"Not good one," she answered. "In the army, we were trained never to stop no matter what. We were to drive and keep driving. If Sam is coming at us and driving like a maniac, that male is in terrible shape. I wouldn't cross my fingers to see if he makes it.

When everyone was waiting in the garage, V joined them saying that gates were open and Jane and Manny had a gurney at the ready. They all jumped back when they heard a roaring engine followed up by screeching tires. The sound grew louder until a truck ready to die any day came blazing past the front gates and continued to pick up speed. Almost flying up when the ground dipped into the garage, the truck didn't slow down once until it crashed right into a GTO and Lamborghini.

Rhage's jaw dropped when the truck crashed into to his rides. If it was another day, everyone would be laughing. But when the truck's bed went up for a second and slammed its tires back on the concrete, they ran to the truck. The driver's door flew open after a couple of kicks and Sam stumbled out. There was a bruise on the side of his head and a few cuts from where the broken glass caught him.

Managing to keep his feet, he jogged around to the other side of the truck and tried to open the back door. Zsadist had to help pry the door open. That's when everyone looked with wide eyes when the door flew open.

In the back was Victoria who was hovering over a body.

Clutching the front seats and the one under her with her nails digging right into the fabric, her body shook uncontrollable. Her eyes were so wide they might as well fall out of her head and every hair on her head was spiked in multiple directions like when a cat arched its back.

"Victoria?" Sam called.

"F-f-f-fine. J-j-just drive a l-l-l-little slower next time," she stuttered.

When it look like she wasn't going to move without some help, Sam jumped in there and pried her fingers off the chairs. She was still shaking when he pulled her out that he had to hold her from falling.

"W-w-w-we could've t-t-t-taken him t-t-to a hospital."

Pulling her out of the way, Tohr and Sohrrow reached in and pulled out the unconscious male. The seats were completely soaked with blood that it pooled on the floor. The two had to watch their steps as they pulled the male out and on the gurney. Their clothes were completely soaked in red after holding the male for a few seconds.

Jane and Manny went to work immediately. They quickly checked his vitals before rushing him off to surgery. At first, Wrath was going to ask what was happening when Sohrrow slumped against the truck. Tohr had to hold onto the door to keep his balance. When Nightmahre looked at his brother, he saw the horror in Sohrrow's eyes.

Walking up to his brother, Nightmahre could feel Ehnvy and Phride shadow him. Their brother's eyes were just as wide as Victoria's. Lhyra pushed past the brothers and took her _hellren's _hand to comfort him.

"Sohrrow?"

Instead of looking at his female, Sohrrow looked right up at Nightmahre.

"Night, it's father. It's Mehrcy."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Victoria was still shaking when she sat down. Only two hours arriving to Caldwell and she was helping Sam load the guy she found in the alley in the back of his truck. Sam completely ignored her when she suggested taking him to the hospital. That's when she found herself clinging for her life in the back. Cars and lights passed by in flashes and the truck swerved so many times Victoria clutched the chairs for dear life. The crash hadn't been easy either. When her end of the truck went up for a couple of seconds, Victoria swore she saw her life flash before her eyes.

Not like she had a good past.

Once the guy was taken away, Sam had led her down a series of tunnels and opened a room to what looked like a gym. Plopping down on a bench, Victoria took deep breathes until her shaking stopped. She still had her hands in shaky fists but she could live with that. When she looked up at Sam, it seemed they had been followed. Faces matching memories popped up in her head when she saw the two giants. On Sam's left was a guy with blond hair and blue eyes. He had the face of a movie star that it looked like the light in the gym tried to give him justice. On Sam's right was a guy with long hair full of color mixed with orange, gold and red.

"I know you guys," spoke Victoria. "I played for y'all a couple of years ago."

They both looked at Sam. Victoria watched as he slowly shook his head as if he expected her to miss it. The two gave slight nods like they were speaking a different language before looking at her. Swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat, Victoria figured it was best to stand. She didn't like being talked down to even though she could've died a few minutes ago.

Standing and stretching out her arm, she held out her hand. All three looked at her shaking hand. The aftershock still held its hold over her. Drawing back her hand, Victoria stuffed both of her hands in her pockets. Her arms shook when her hands couldn't.

"Listen, Victoria," started Sam, "I'm sorry for that. I know you just got back and was probably planning to chill for tonight."

"Yeah. I wasn't planning to find a guy half-dead behind your bar and have a near death experience. But hey, now I can say I did and should move on to find something else that might actually kill me. Why couldn't we have just taken him to a hospital?" She accidently yelled out the last part. Aftershock sucked and it was messing with her head.

The guy with the colorful hair spoke up. "Did you see anything when you found the man?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nah, man. One minute I'm outside by myself and the next I find him. It's like he appeared out of thin air." Even though Victoria was taller because of her boots, she still had to tiptoe to peek at the door they walked through. "Is he going to be okay? There was a lot of blood when I found him."

"We're working on it. But you didn't see anything?"

"How many times do I have to say it? He wasn't there and then he was. Poof! Houdini! Abracadabra! What more do you want me to say?" That's when the wheels in her head started turning. The guys standing behind Sam weren't your ordinary friends unless they were in something. Like Godfather something. "Aw, hell! Are you guys like hitmen for an organized family or something?"

With everything happening, the blond sputtered a laugh. Sam's face went red that he started coughing. It was the guy who spoke to her who kept a calm face.

"I can assure you we're nothing like that. It's just that I need to know for your own safety."

"Well, no. I was alone. Does that answer your question?"

"Guess so," answered the blond. He then looked at Sam. "Sam? What exactly were you thinking when you brought her here?"

"I was thinking I needed help loading the male in my truck and have someone make sure he stayed alive while I drove. That's what I was thinking. Unless you have something better in mind, Rhage."

"Alright you two," spoke the other. "I think we can agree that Sam needed help. Besides, it's close to sunup. Mehrcy would've died if Victoria hadn't found him."

As the three spoke amongst themselves, Victoria felt her aftershock fade. Standing perfectly still, she listened to their conversation. They said the guy she found was named Mehrcy. Luckily, they probably thought she didn't know anything about him. Unfortunately, her complicated life basically revolved around that name. She just kept her mouth shut. There was no point in speaking about her past.

When the conversation came to a standstill, they looked at Victoria. She quirked her eyebrow when they didn't look at her in the eyes. But when she followed their gaze, it made sense why they didn't meet her eyes. Parts of her jacket and nearly her entire top was wet in blood. With the whole crashing entrance she forgot she was walking around with Mehrcy's blood.

"You might want to change," said Rhage. He looked over to the other guy. "So who's driving her home? You know we can't have her remembering this."

"I can," answered Sam. "Phury can ride with me and dematerialize after everything's done. I know where she lives. I can drop her off and head back."

"Sounds good."

"Hold up!" squeaked Victoria. "If you guys want me to forget y'all, just give me some booze and I won't even remember my last name for a few days. I can't even remember the losers I dated and I'm pretty sure there were a good handful. Don't do some voodoo magic! I've seen that shit and it works."

They all quirked their eyebrows. She shrugged. "Sorry. Just got back from vacation and still got some NOLA in me."

Phury finally smirked. "I'm sure you mean it. But this is for your own safety. You'll forget about everything from finding our friend to now."

Hearing the truth in his voice, there was no point in fighting. Sam's friends clearly wanted her to forget about these precious minutes. She just had to play the game and get out of here. Only when she was home could she collect her thought and think of a game plan.

With her hands still in her pockets, she lowered her shoulders and rolled her head.

"Fine. But I still say the booze idea will work. Worked plenty of times during Mardi Gras."

* * *

There was only darkness.

Feeling the urge to fight back, Mehrcy fought against the darkness that seemed to be all around him. When it felt like he couldn't win, he ran as fast as his feet would carry him. He ran as far away from the darkness as possible. But as he ran further, the darkness surrounded him crushed against him, preventing him from continuing. Kicking and clawing his way out, Mehrcy screamed out.

That's when he saw him.

Stretching his arm as far as it could go, Mehrcy screamed out. Covered in darkness the person turned around. Their body held no form except for their outline. The only thing that shined were their silver eyes. They were so silver that they could've been mistaken for Mehrcy's. But then they started to darken until they were consumed by darkness.

And right when the figure dispersed into dark waves, another person took their spot. And instead of having silver eyes like Mehrcy, the person possessed dark gold eyes.

Dark lines formed over their face to reveal a devilish grin.

The darkness engulfed Mehrcy.

* * *

Being thrown back into his own body, Mehrcy gasped for air. Something plastic was over his nose and a strange smell radiated form inside. Ripping it clean from his face, he shielded his face from the bright light above him. A few urgent voices swarmed around him before he saw people in scrubs looking down at him.

Even though they didn't smell like _lesser_, he was somewhere he didn't know. Everything pointed to danger and the need to get away.

When one of them reached for him, Mehrcy bolted up and threw them against a wall. Wires were in his skin that he took a fistful and ripped them off. Pain told him he was alive for the time being. Ignoring the person calling for help, he rolled off of a gurney and fell on his chest. His body picked up the pain but not much. They probably drugged him before what it seemed to operate on him.

Swaying up to his feet, he shook his head a few times to fight off the grogginess. Just then someone his size and an interesting tattoo on the side of his face bursted through the doors and made an attempt to tackle him. Even though he couldn't see or feel clearly, Mehrcy saw the male's attack coming and swiftly dodged him.

The dodge cleared his mind enough to reach for the male and put him in a headlock. The male punched and kick that they both fell against the wall with Mehrcy holding them up. But the more he felt the pain return, the more he tightened his hold on the male. Old wounds he received opened that he could feel his blood trickle down his body to the floor.

One of the people in scrubs took off their mask and cried out to the male. It was a woman. From the way how she made a hasty move towards the two told Mehrcy the male he was choking was her male.

Unsure whether or not to release him, Mehrcy scanned the room. The only exit was the door behind the female. And when a plan came to mind, the doors flew open and five familiar faces filled the doorframe. The one standing in front of the four had short black hair and dark blue eyes. When he brought his hands up to show he wasn't a threat, a name from a long time ago popped up.

"Tohrment?" Mehrcy croaked.

"It's me, Mehrcy. You're with the Black Dagger Brotherhood. You were injured and a friend of ours brought you here. Now can you let go of Vishous?"

Another familiar name came that Mehrcy looked down. Sure enough it was the same Vishous he met so many centuries ago.

Releasing him, V fell to the ground coughing. Jane ran to her _hellren _as he yakked it up.

Stumbling on his feet, the room started to spin. Mehrcy felt the darkness trying to grab hold of him again. Reaching out for something to hold onto, he missed the gurney and would've fallen over when the four behind Tohr sprinted across the room and grabbed him. With their combined strength, they kept him from falling.

Mehrcy knew he was bleeding bad. The wounds he had reopened were all fatal. He had already lost a lot of blood and anymore would kill him. Since the room started to darken, he looked at the four who had caught him. Even in his state, there was no way he could mistake his own sons.

The last thing he remembered was their worried faces. The darkness happily reclaimed him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

A strange dream came to Mehrcy. Deep in his memories did one he had forgotten came to him in his sleep. It was eight years ago in the French Quarter. Mehrcy had spent decades tracking a certain person and he stood in the middle of Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. Of course, he spent days in New Orleans tracking the person only to find he was gone.

Music filled the street. People all around him wore masks and beads around their necks. Everyone made their way to Canal Street for the floats. A drunken couple bumped into him and didn't care that he was twice their size. Women barely wore any clothes that Mehrcy averted his eyes every time he saw a woman not wearing a shirt. Some beads fell on his head from the balconies above that they now dangled around his neck.

Since the person he was tracking wasn't here, Mehrcy decided it was time to leave the city. The only problem was that it would be hard trying to make it through the place. All the roads were closed and humans flocked every street. He couldn't walk five steps without dancing around a cup full of beer falling near him.

Right when Mehrcy was at the edge of Bourbon Street, someone fell against him. He caught the person before they could fall. When he looked down, it was a girl who looked no older than sixteen. She wore a black mask around her eyes with dark blue jewels hanging from the sides. The jewels matched her dark blue eyes that looked up at him in wonder.

It was when their eyes met that Mehrcy felt the world around him vanished. Those eyes hypnotized him that he forgot how to speak. When she pulled back, he felt something inside him yearn to touch her again.

"Sorry," she said.

All Mehrcy could do was nod.

"Crazy night, huh?" Her eyes scanned him for a second. She then pulled out a camera. "If it's okay, can I get your picture? I don't mean to be rude or anything. You just look different and I like different."

"Um, okay. I don't see what harm it can do."

A smile came from the girl and her eyes lit up. Taking a few steps back, Mehrcy looked at the camera as the girl took the picture. The flash went off and he had to blink a couple of times. She walked up to him to show him the picture. When he looked, he understood why she thought he looked different. In the picture, as he stood in the middle of the crowd, it seemed as if the people flowed around him. He was a stone in a flowing river and the river of people walked around him like he formed another path for them to follow.

"Thanks! And happy Mardi Gras!"

Mehrcy watched as the girl ran with the smile still on her face. The yearning ached in his chest when he could no longer see her. It was the same yearning when he had first seen Ahva centuries ago. Now the feeling was back and it was stronger than when he saw his former _shellan_.

Shaking his head, Mehrcy shoved his way past people until he managed to get on a trolley that took him to the Garden District. Getting off at the last stop, he looked at the trolley as it made its way back to the French Quarter. Strangely, he had grown attached to city. He had been in New Orleans for two weeks and knew the person had left three days ago. Mehrcy never knew why he didn't leave when he found out. Something had kept him there and its pull was strong.

However, it was time to go. Looking up at the night sky, Mehrcy took in the music and closed his eyes. He then dematerialized, knowing he would never return to New Orleans.

* * *

When the memory ended, Mehrcy opened his eyes.

Light flooded over that he brought his hand up to cover his eyes. When he did, he caught sight of an IV attached to his hand. Tossing his head around, he was in a white room with medical supplies nearby. Monitors rested next to the bed he was on, beeping for every heartbeat his heart made.

Mehrcy tried to sit up only to feel stabs of pain all over. Clutching his chest, he felt the stitches under the pale shirt. The monitors beeped faster since his heart was beating like crazy. Almost driving him insane, Mehrcy ripped the IV and needles in his arms and the monitors made a flat line sound. Pushing himself further up, he tossed the blanket covering his legs away and placed one foot on the floor.

The pain struck again and Mehrcy coughed for air. His wounds weren't fully healed. His last battle with the person he had been tracking didn't turn in his favor and he barely escaped with his life. All he remembered was falling in an alley and waking up in a room like this with familiar faces around him.

Tohrment. Vishous. His sons.

His sons were there.

Shoving himself from the bed, Mehrcy fell to his knees and bit his lip from crying out. Trying to stand, his hair fell over his body and covered his face. Mehrcy's hair was so long that it washed over his body in thick black strands. Placing both of his hands firmly underneath him, he pushed up and kicked his feet under. Standing up straight for a second, Mehrcy wobbled before clutching the bed for support.

Covered a matching pair of slacks, Mehrcy looked for his clothes. They were nowhere in sight. If his clothes were missing so was his sword.

Looking around, he saw the door and stumbled over to it. Hitting the wall with his side, he groaned out in pain and firmly gripped the knob with his hand. Giving the knob a twist, he just about opened it when it was pushed inwards and hit him right in the face. Mehrcy would've fallen when a strong hand grabbed is forearm.

Pulling him back up, Mehrcy looked at the person only to feel his heart sink. Standing in front of him was a person who almost looked like him. Their hair reached past their shoulders that they had tied it back and their black bangs framed around his dark gold eyes. They were just an inch shorter than him but they still looked Mehrcy right in the eyes.

"Nightmahre?"

"Father?"

Looking over his son's shoulder, he saw his other sons. Sohrrow stood right behind his brother while Ehnvy and Phride made their way to them. That's when Mehrcy caught sight of people making their way to the group. It was the same woman he saw screaming for Vishous who was right behind her. Tohrment was with them as well with two other males he didn't know flanked them.

Jerking his arm back, Mehrcy managed to jump back and raised his lips in a hiss. Ehnvy and Phride disappeared from few and Nightmahre held up his hands. There were some whispers going on in the hallway.

"Father," called Nightmahre. "Please, calm down. Do you remember where you're at?"

Hearing his son's calm voice, Mehrcy tried to go through his clouded memory. He gave a tight nod. Nightmahre lowered his hands and took a step inside the room. Sohrrow was right behind his brother in case things didn't go their way. "These people are part of the Brotherhood. They just want to help if you let them."

Swaying on his feet, Mehrcy slowly lowered his lips. Nightmahre released a sigh and nodded. Sohrrow took a couple of steps back and waved his hand. Before the others could walk in, Mehrcy's body betrayed him and he felt his legs give. It was Nightmahre who caught him and guided him back to the bed.

As his son backed off, he looked at the two males. One seemed taller than him and had a long scar running across his face. The other had a long mane full of color. Even with the scar, Mehrcy could tell the two were brothers. Twins if the one with the scar had grown his hair instead of a skull trim look.

Mehrcy immediately recognized Tohrment and Vishous. During his time, Vishous had been younger and Tohrment a few years younger than Mehrcy. Seeing the two as full males brought a smile to him. And seeing his sons as a part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood proved how much he missed in the decades.

"I'm fine," he said.

"Fine my ass," remarked V. "You were close to dead when Sam brought you in."

Mehrcy couldn't help himself. No one in the room didn't know he truly had been in worse. "These are just scratches. Believe me when I saw I truly have been through worse."

"How can we believe you?"

The question came from Sohrrow.

"How can we believe you after all these years? We thought you were dead! And all of a sudden, you fall out of the sky and drop back in our lives. How do you expect us to believe you if you disappeared without a trace?"

Ehnvy and Phride took a step towards their brother. Even Nightmahre placed himself between Sohrrow and his father. Sohrrow was shaking and his narrow eyes stayed on Mehrcy. The only emotion Mehrcy could pick up from his son was betrayal.

If only they knew.

V stood behind Jane as she walked up to Mehrcy. He held up his hand for her to stop.

"I need my sword," he said.

Whatever tension that had been in the room faded. Everyone looked at one another for a second before looking at him. Giving them a benefit of a doubt, he asked again for his weapon. Healed or not, he need his sword next to him. Without it he felt defenseless.

It was Tohr who spoke. "You didn't come in with a sword."

Mehrcy bolted up to his feet.

"What! I had my sword strapped secure to my waist. I had it when I passed out. What the hell do you mean I didn't come with it?"

Everyone backed up. Even his own sons took a few steps back.

"Like I said," answered Tohrment. "Sam brought you in and we had to operate on you. During that time, no one saw your sword. It wasn't on you. We even asked Sam and he said he never saw a sword."

Fear trickled down Mehrcy's body. He didn't have his sword. After tracking the person to Caldwell and fighting them, he lost his sword.

Things had just gone from bad to worse.

* * *

Sam and Phury had dropped Victoria in front of an apartment complex and gave her a different memory. After the two left, she waited in front of the complex to make sure they were far gone. Blinking twice and rolling her head around, Victoria strolled down the street. She had pretended to have her memory erased since the vampire trick didn't work on her. They had her believe that she walked out of the alley and took a bus home. They even tried to make her forget about the clothes she had worn to The Pack.

Wearing a black long sleeve turtleneck, Victoria practically skipped all the way back to the parking lot where her Spyder waited. Getting in her car and driving to her place, she thought of what happened to her. After all these years, the one time she wasn't looking for him, Mehrcy dropped into her life.

Muttering a few curses in French, Victoria pulled off into a garage and parked her car close to the top floor. She had driven further into Caldwell where condos and penthouses looked over the city. Driving her ride to the garage connected to her building, Victoria got out of her car and popped open the trunk. Pulling out something long, she slung it over her shoulder and closed the trunk. She walked over to the doors that bridged the garage and building together. The lobby downstairs was empty with the security guard at his desk.

Waiting for the elevator to come down, she stepped inside the metal box and pushed the fiftieth floor. Watching the numbers ding past every floor, the doors finally opened on the top floor. Victoria walked down the hallway until she stood in front of her door. Reaching for her keys and opening the door, she closed the door right behind her and locked it. She then looked at the monitor next to the door and checked the recorded footage from the camera hiding in the corner outside her door.

No one visited her penthouse in the last hour or two.

Resuming the footage to live, Victoria stretched out her arms and yawned. In the distance the sun peeked out over the buildings. On the opposite of her penthouse was a wall window with a balcony on the other side. To her right was a kitchen with an island in the center and a lonely chair next to it. A small flat screen TV rested on top of a counter facing the island. To her far left was a mattress with a black comforter and dark blue pillows on top of it. Beyond the mattress was a door that led to the bathroom and another door that was her closet.

Kicking off her boots and nudging them out of the way, Victoria walked the long distance to her mattress bed and flopped down. Tossing the item over, she rolled around and propped her chin with her hands. She looked at the long object and thought of the similar one she had hidden under the floorboard somewhere in her penthouse.

Rolling around on her bed, Victoria sat up Indian style and placed the object on her legs. Anyone could tell it was a sword in its sheath. Taking the handle and pulling it out, a sword completely black glistened under the morning rays. It was light in Victoria's hand that she felt she could swing it around and barely feel it.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Shoving the sword back in its sheath, Victoria rolled her eyes and looked at the person standing by the window. Covered in black robes and a black veil, the Scribe Virgin watched Victoria.

"Is this really necessary?" yawned Victoria. "I mean, what point is it in giving me a lecture I already know?"

The goddess floated to the edge of the mattress. Victoria didn't so much as blink.

"We need to talk."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Everyone in the world knew everything in life was unfair. Well, it was really unfair if a goddess kept pestering ones family going on two hundred years or more. And right now, Victoria was considering on getting up and showing the Scribe Virgin the door. Not like she was going to kill her. She couldn't if she wanted her family to complete their job.

So instead, Victoria crawled off her mattress bed and found her way up to her feet. Stepping around the goddess without a care in the world, she went to slide open the sliding glass and the morning breeze flooded in. She then turned around with a casual look.

"Come on, Analisse. I already know what you're about to say. What more is there to be said?"

"Victoria Bishop," she called. There was no mistaking the warning in her voice. The goddess couldn't kill her. But she still had to remind Victoria she was a goddess who could make her life a living hell. Not like her life was already a living hell.

"Fine. Dearest Scribe Virgin, what more is there to tell me? I mean, something other than the Brother Mehrcy and my duty."

A sound resembling a sigh of frustration came from under her veil. "Other than you having the chance in fulfilling the task I bestowed upon your family? Or should I say your second chance? Why do you keep postponing your responsibility? I gave your family one simple job and you can't see it through."

Victoria rolled her eyes. At least this lecture wasn't about her finding Mehrcy and fixing something her ancestors accidently screwed up. But it almost sounded like the Scribe Virgin was lecturing a child for doing something wrong and Victoria so didn't feel like being lectured at the moment.

Turning her back on the goddess, Victoria stepped outside and leaned over the railing. The sun had just poked over the buildings. She had spent her first day back in Caldwell finding a huge vampire in an alley, had a crazy drive of her life, pretend that the compulsion Phury used on her worked and now had to deal with their goddess. She could've dealt with all those headaches except for Mehrcy.

It was the Bishop women's sole duty to find the Brother. Countless years they spent looking for him until they finally gave up. Her mother gave up, her grandmother gave up. Almost all the women gave up after eighty years of failure. Victoria didn't even bother looking for Mehrcy. But she didn't have to, did she? He found her. Again.

"What do you want me to do, Analisse?" She held up her hand so the goddess didn't have to speak. "It's weird calling you the Scribe Virgin all the time. Calling you by your real name sounds better than formal. Anyways, what do you expect? You said it was our choice to give it to him. Well, I'm sticking by what I said eight years ago."

Victoria waited for the Scribe Virgin to say anything. Again, she heard a sigh of frustration.

"Why do you continue to be so stubborn?" she questioned. "Just give it back to him and you can move on with your life. The curse will lift and all of this would be nothing more than a bad dream."

"Bad dream?" laughed Victoria. She spun around to face the Scribe Virgin. Unlike her mom who kept her head down whenever the goddess visited, Victoria glared at her with deep hatred. "How do you expect to call this a bad dream? Because of your damned curse, many women have lost their lives to this false redemption. Now it's my turn to carry the torch and that makes it my decision. And like I told you the first and second time you visited. I. Wont. Do. It. I'm not a vampire. That means you're not my goddess. So if you have anything else to say, get the hell out of my face."

The room dropped a few degrees that Victoria could see her breath. But she didn't shudder or show fear. This was one of the Scribe Virgin's tactics to scare people. Many Bishops before her would've gone to their knees and asked her for forgiveness. However, Victoria wouldn't show weakness. She managed to escape death once. That act alone proved she was capable of doing anything. And her defiance towards the goddess showed it.

Since her freezing tactic failed, the Scribe Virgin faced Victoria. A wave of anger rode off the goddess and slammed into her. Victoria fought to keep herself up on her feet. When she felt the wave grow intense, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The goddess had forced it to stir inside her. Victoria could feel the very thing she worked hard to control move restlessly in her.

"Watch your tongue, child. I control the curse, not you. I could unleash its full power but have given your family only a fraction of it. Do you wish to shoulder the entire force or stay with the amount I have given you?"

"And lose my sanity like everyone before me?" Victoria challenged without opening her eyes.

The wave disappeared. With it gone, Victoria regained control and forced the thing inside her to calm down. Today must've been a good day since it obeyed without fighting back. Opening her eyes, they shimmered their dark blue color and nothing else.

"I will look the other way this time only. But if you ever see Mehrcy again, you are to give it to him no matter what. The curse has been disrupted for too long. It's time to set it straight once and for all."

Victoria watched as the Scribe Virgin vanished in a ball of light. Once she was gone, Victoria flinched. It seemed that it wasn't done for today. The thing twisted and curled around inside her for freedom. But it wasn't strong. It was simple reminding her that she wasn't the only one suffering in this world.

Feeling the cool wind creep over her skin, Victoria stepped inside her penthouse and slid the door behind her. Feeling a little too on edge, she walked over to the curtain and dragged it across the wall until the room was filled in darkness. Clapping her hands once, light poured in the room.

Today had been a long day. The only cure Victoria could think of was a long hot bath and a good night's rest. She would need it if she were to meet Mehrcy again.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

This had to be the strangest dream Mehrcy had ever experienced.

After the fiasco with him losing his sword, it was clear the male wasn't strong enough to meet Wrath. The sun was up and there was nowhere to go. Mehrcy would have to eventually tell his sons why he left ninety years ago. In fact, he would have to tell them in front of the whole Brotherhood. He had lived his entire life with the curse placed upon his family and it was time his sons knew the truth.

Since Jane wanted to run some more tests, Mehrcy figured the best place to get some rest was in the infirmary. Being alone would give him some time to think. But after all those decades being alone, it was his only excuse to stay away from his family.

When Mehrcy closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, he found himself standing in the middle of a bayou. It was night and the full moon hung above him. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked. There was the occasional slithering sound of snakes and ripples coming from trees. Next to the trees were glowing eyes above water. The eyes would blink a couple of times before submerging under water.

Mehrcy knew where he was.

It seemed Louisiana still had a strong hold on him.

Figuring he was in one of the many bayous, he tried to remember anything about his past that would bring him to this strange dream. Nothing came up. In fact, not once had Mehrcy ever visited a bayou during his tracking. He had spent most of his time in New Orleans during his trip and didn't venture far from the city.

Taking a cautious step, the water rippled under Mehrcy's feet. He didn't go through the water but was walking on top of it. Taking two more steps, it seemed he was safe from getting wet. Mehrcy looked around. Since this was a dream, he tried to will himself to wake up. The chirping and croaking grew louder until that was all he could hear. The bayou was lively in the dream and it seemed it wouldn't release him so easily.

A howl broke through the noise.

Spinning around in a tight circle, Mehrcy searched for the source of the howl. He stumbled back when he saw the gators dash to the water before disappearing in a sea of black. Birds flew from their trees to the sky. The insects and frogs went silent. Once every sign of live vanished, Mehrcy listened carefully.

Light sounds came from behind him. The sounds were so light that he thought he had imagined them. Looking down, he saw ripples break around his feet and continue ahead of him. Whatever had scared off the wildlife was standing behind him. Mehrcy kept his back towards the being in case it would attack.

It howled again.

While it continued to howl, Mehrcy slowly turned around. His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw what was behind him.

With its head raised back and howling, a black wolf stood behind him. Finishing its call, the wolf lowered its head with perked ears and curious eyes. It was the eyes that fascinated Mehrcy. Wolf eyes were usually a goldish color like his sons. There were also the occasional brown, green or silver like his. But this wolf didn't possess any of those colors.

The wolf looked at Mehrcy with dark blue eyes.

Mehrcy was too captivated by the eyes that he failed to see the wolf walk in his direction. Its movements were too slick and steady to be a real wolf. The wolf placed one paw in front of the other as if it were walking on two legs and approached Mehrcy in a wave of black. Those eyes looked too human, especially when they looked at him.

Hopping on a log, the wolf calmly walked up the truck until it was standing at eye level with Mehrcy. Its fluffy tail swished around in slow movements. Mehrcy stared right into the wolf's eyes. But when the wolf's eyes flickered down at the water under Mehrcy's feet, he looked down as well and froze.

Under him wasn't his reflection. There was a white wolf under him, looking back at him with silver eyes.

Snapping his head up, the wolf stepped back and hopped off the log. Walking a few paces away, it looked over its shoulder with those knowing eyes. Then the world around them lightened up. Mehrcy looked up to see the moon brightening like never before. It was so bright that it casted beams of light over the bayou. But when he looked back at the black wolf, he rubbed his eyes in case he was seeing things right. This might be a dream, but Mehrcy knew there had to be a purpose to it.

The moon which had been above him was now deep in the trees in front of the black wolf. The brightness nearly blinded Mehrcy that he had to squint to see what happened next. Still looking at him, a black mist formed around the wolf. Rising up, the smoke revealed human feet. The smoke continued to rise until a woman stood in front of him. Her hair was so short that it curled around the nape of her neck. Mehrcy couldn't see her face clearly because a mask covered the upper half and shadowed her eyes.

It was the same black mask with blue jewels hanging from the sides.

As Mehrcy watched, the pupils in the woman's blue eyes dilated until the black almost took over. When the wolf seemed to have human eyes, the woman now had wolf eyes. She cocked her head towards him before facing the moon in front of her. Taking off in a leap, she chased after the moon.

"Wait!" called Mehrcy. But when he spoke, he made a whining sound.

The woman stopped.

When Mehrcy tried to speak, all he could make was a whimper. Trying to speak, no words came out except for animal sounds. When he tried to bring his hand up to his throat, it felt like his arms couldn't do it. Looking down at his hands, Mehrcy's eyes widened in fear. He was looking down at his reflection in the water. Unlike before, he saw himself looking up at him and not a white wolf.

The reason why was because as he looked at his reflection, white paws stood above the water. Sound and smell attacked Mehrcy like never before that he whimpered and felt his ears flattened against his head. A white tail curled between his legs and he stumbled over the hind legs on his body.

"Mehrcy."

A gentle voice called his name.

Bringing his head up, Mehrcy watched the woman. A soft smile formed on her lips. She brought up her hand and waved at him like she was saying goodbye. When she brought her hand back to her side, the woman turned back around towards the moon and began her chase once again. Mehrcy watched as the woman turned back into a black wolf and chased the moon until she disappeared.

Still unable to speak, Mehrcy howled out after the woman. It was only when he howled did the dream around his shatter. Having nothing to hold him in the darkness, still in the form of a white wolf, Mehrcy fell into the darkness.

* * *

Mehrcy snapped open his eyes and lurched forward in the bed.

Clutching his chest and panting, Mehrcy couldn't see anything. He had been able to see the outlines of the bed and other supplies in the room but right now he couldn't see anything. Bringing his hands up to his face, his heartbeat slowed a bit when he saw his finger and not paws. Touching his skin, he began to relax when he didn't feel or see fur.

Checking the last visible part of his skin to see no white fur, Mehrcy finally gained control of his breathing. But the dream still haunted him.

Unable to stay put, Mehrcy got up from the bed and threw on a black shirt hanging on a chair. Only wearing black jeans and a black shirt, Mehrcy left his hair untied. He didn't feel like tying it back. Besides, the black waves almost felt like a reminder to him and he needed anything to remind him that he was back in reality. The dream had been too much that he had feared he would wake up as a white wolf. Seeing his black hair nearly blinding his vision helped him gain some sanity.

Mehrcy didn't know where he was walking. Outside the door was a series of hallway that led to who knew where. Staying close to the wall, Mehrcy decided to take the way to his left and walked down the hallway. Even though he had been walking for only a few minutes, it felt like hours before a flight of stairs came to view. Taking the stairs, they led Mehrcy up to a door. Pushing the door open, a mansion revealed itself.

There were the occasional _doggen _who walked by the doorway without glancing. Mehrcy stayed hidden behind the door as he inspected the mansion. Something about it looked familiar and it was killing him. It had to be centuries since he had seen this place. It surely had been centuries since he saw the familiar faces of Tohrment and Vishous. There was also a Brother Mehrcy remembered meeting so long ago.

Darius. This was Darius's mansion.

Stepping out from the doorway, Mehrcy had only walked a few steps in when a sound came from above. Looking straight at the stairwell leading to the second floor, a male looked down at Mehrcy with a cocked pieced eyebrow. Actually, almost his entire face was covered in piercings. His blond and black hair flowed over his shoulder since he was leaning over the railing. An unnatural presence radiated off of the male.

"Well, I can see where the brothers get their good looks from," joked Lassiter.

Mehrcy kept his mouth shut.

"Hey! What's with the tight lip? You caused everyone a scare and I wanted to see the former Brother in action."

"And who may you be?" asked Mehrcy.

"The name's Lassiter. Fallen angel, thorn in the Brotherhood's side, major moocher on both couch and fridge, loves watching talk shows about ones feelings and great pals with your oldest son."

Another faint memory clicked in Mehrcy's head.

"Son of a bitch," he hissed. "I thought you were dead."

Lassiter jumped over the railing and landed a few feet from Mehrcy. A wicked smile formed on his face. "Aw, come on. The whole plague thing was a total accident. When will you males let it go?"

"When you die and stay in hell."

Lassiter just waved his hand and rolled his eyes. Mehrcy remembered the angel. He had been around when Lassiter caused a plague that helped reduce Europe's population. Unfortunately, it reduced the population too much and made it to the history books. Since then, the Brotherhood showed a deep hatred towards him. Someone would have to explain why he was in the mansion.

Not feeling the urge to chat with him, Mehrcy figured he could wonder around since it seemed it was day time. But when he turned around, Lassiter made a sound in his throat. Mehrcy turned around with a warning in his eyes. The angel either didn't see it or ignored it.

"You're just like Sohrrow."

"What?" growled Mehrcy.

"Oh! He doesn't know, does he?"

A strangled laugh came from Lassiter. "Boy, that's going to be fun explaining." When he looked at Mehrcy, he elaborated. "The both of you have this white glow around you. The best way how I can explain it is light. Y'all have light around you."

Mehrcy went completely still.

"Don't tell anyone," he begged. "You can't tell, especially Sohrrow."

"So what? He's going to find out. It sounded like he hated you a few hours ago. How do you expect him to react when you tell him the truth?" When Mehrcy was about to deny his claim, Lassiter held up his hand. "Don't bullshit a bullshitter. I know about him. The light around Sohrrow has this longing thing going on. It's almost like it knows its opposite is alive. And from my experience, light can only survive with darkness."

Mehrcy couldn't say anything. For centuries he had stayed silent about his family's curse. No one knew except him and the person he had spent the past decades tracking. Hearing it coming from Lassiter struck fear in him like never before. All Mehrcy could do was pray that the angel wouldn't tell his son first.

As if sensing his worry, Lassiter shrugged his shoulders. "It seems you plan to tell him. I'll keep my lips shut." He looked away for a second. He then looked right at Mehrcy. "You do know your light is just like Sohrrow's. It has the same longing."

"Now that's impossible."

"Serious. It's acting like your opposite is still alive. And by the way how its acting, it seems your opposite isn't far away. In fact, your light seems to be stretching out towards its opposite."

Walking up to Mehrcy, Lassiter patted him on the shoulder. Then he jerked his hand back as if he had been shocked. Rubbing his hand, Lassiter narrowed his eyes. Mehrcy placed one foot back as if ready to run.

"Take my advice if you want. If you do, you might want to check out the legend of the wolf brothers."

The dream came at Mehrcy. The black wolf. The bayou. The woman wearing the same mask he saw eight years ago. Him turning into a white wolf. Everything about the dream seemed like nothing but a dream. But then again, dreams were meant to tell someone something very important.

"What legend?"

"The one about Sköll and Hati. Believe it or not, your curse almost resembles around the brothers."

"You mean the sons of Fenrir? That's just a Norse legend. It's not real."

"Legend or not, the two brothers represent light and darkness. Sköll is the light and Hati is the darkness. Both of them were needed to exist to chase the sun and moon. Light and darkness needs to exist to keep the balance. And from what I just felt, your Hati is very much alive and well."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Lassiter's words troubled Mehrcy. All through the day, he spent his time in the library he found. Going through stacks of books, it seemed the Brothers had a decent collection on Norse mythology. Mehrcy's search deepened when he found books on Ragnarök. There were many pictures of Fenrir breaking from his chains and battling Odin. The giant gray wolf held little interest to Mehrcy. But as he read the legend, he found himself surrounded by books about Sköll and Hati.

In each book was a white and black wolf. The white wolf, Sköll, was seen chasing the moon while his brother, Hati, the black wolf, chased the moon. They chased their symbols in a circle to where Hati was above Sköll. It was clear Lassiter was right in a way. In order for the sun and moon to move, both of the brothers had to exist in order to continue their tasks until Ragnarök. Sköll clearly represented light as did Hati represent darkness.

Mehrcy went through his dream. He had turned into a white wolf while the woman turned into a black wolf. Lassiter had said he had a glow representing light around him. If anything was close to what the angel said, he was Sköll in a way and the woman was Hati.

It had to be. Remembering the dream, the moon had appeared in front of the woman. It seemed that it was her duty to chase the moon by the way how she began to run. But it was the way how she spoke that touched Mehrcy. His name rolling off her lips sounded so sweet and innocent. There was a longing in her voice and her wave goodbye brought a sadness to him. Then she left to chase the moon.

Placing the book on his lap, Mehrcy stared up at the ceiling. His mind told him it was impossible. He had spent ten years looking for his twin in order to end the curse. But when Mehrcy did find his brother, Rihgor was dead. He found his brother in an abandoned cabin far in the woods. The door had been kicked in and there was blood everywhere. It was clear the humans who had lived in the cabin had put up a fight. The pool of dried up blood Mehrcy found proved it. However, Rihgor was the only body in the cabin His body covered in thick sheets to protect him from the sun and his sword missing, someone had interrupted the curse and killed his brother.

Strange how the past could come back and haunt a person.

Closing his eyes to avoid the oncoming headache, Mehrcy thought of the dream. What stuck him weird was the mask. He had a dream not long ago about his time back in New Orleans and the girl who he poised for. She had been wearing the same exact mask the woman wore in the dream. Perhaps it was the same person he saw in the dream. Both of them had the same dark blue eyes.

In fact, there was a faint memory of those eyes.

Searching his memories, there was a blur that came to mind. It was when Mehrcy escaped and appeared in the alley the other night. He had sensed he wasn't alone. When he provided cover for his escape, Mehrcy didn't have the faintest clue as to where he would run. But then he remembered feeling something familiar in the area and he dematerialized to it. Half dead and fighting to stay conscious, Mehrcy remembered hearing a person walking towards him.

In his memory, he watched woman stood above him. He had brought his hand to touch her cheek. The act hadn't been planned. Through his pain and blood loss, Mehrcy had felt the presence around her that he clung to it. The last thing he saw was the woman looking down at him.

Mehrcy opened his eyes when he heard the door open. Standing in the doorway was Phride. Rubbing his eyes, Mehrcy closed the book and placed it next to the other books on the table. As he stood, Phride walked in and picked up one of the books. He flipped open the cover and his eyebrows slightly went up.

"Ragnarök? We just found you and you're looking up the end of the world?" Phride questioned.

"It's nothing."

It was a terrible lie but that was all Mehrcy had. Until he found answers for his dream, there was no point in worrying the others. He already had his plate full.

Walking past his son and out the door, he waited for Phride to lead the way. They walked in silence until they ended up in front of pair of double doors. Pushing it open, Phride walked in the room full of males. Mehrcy immidiatly recognized his sons. Looking around, he saw Vishous on a sofa giving him a wary look and Tohrment standing next to the male sitting behind the table. Mehrcy remembered Phury and Zsadist from before. As for the others, they were new and looked young.

Focusing on the male next to Tohrment, Mehrcy could see the family resemblance. Mehrcy had served under the previous Wrath and knew immidiatly the male had to be his son. Times had truly changed if Wrath's son was now king.

Mehrcy crossed his arms across his chest when the doors closed behind him. Phride stood next to his brothers. Everyone stared at him with mistrustful eyes. After everything he'd been through, their gazes didn't move him. Mehrcy stayed perfectly still and stared back at them.

"I understand you're Mehrcy, son of Lhight," spoke Wrath.

"I am."

"And I understand you used to be a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood."

"I was."

"So why don't we get past this shit and ask the main questions? Why are you alive and what are you doing here?"

It was time to tell them the truth. Taking one look at his sons, Mehrcy knew his years of stalling had led up to this very moment. They had to know. Especially Sohrrow. He needed to know the truth about his father.

"Truthfully, I shouldn't be. I should've died countless times over the decades. I hope that can answer your first question. As for the second, the reason I am here is because I've been tracking someone important. For ninety years, I have been tracking my son Ahnger. And I am here in your city for one simple reason. I'm here to kill my son."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Their reactions had been expected. Sohrrow went up in an outrage. Phride and Ehnvy held on to their brother to keep him from attacking their father. Nightmahre stepped in Mehrcy's line of vision to his son with disbelief in his eyes. The Brothers had all stood up except for Wrath, perhaps thinking what they heard was wrong.

He had just said why he was here. Now he needed to tell them why he had come to Caldwell to kill Ahnger.

"Our family is cursed," hollered Mehrcy in an attempt to get Sohrrow to shut up. His words worked. Sohrrow went silent. Not daring to look at his son, Mehrcy kept his eyes on Wrath. The king waved his hand for him to continue.

"You can ask the Scribe Virgin if you don't believe me. She'll agree on what I'm about to say." Mehrcy took a breath to calm his nerves. "My father, Lhight, had a twin brother. His name had been lost over the years and was replaced by the name Dhark. My father's twin had insulted the Scribe Virgin and in doing so, she cursed him with eternal darkness. It wasn't long before it took over him. Dhark went mad. He killed humans, _lessers _and vampires without satisfaction. My father didn't know about curse until the day my brother and I was born. Born as a twin, my father found out that for every twin bore from a twin, one would inherent the darkness."

"Hold up," called Butch. "You're saying you're cursed?"

"Yes. Fortunately, I wasn't born with the darkness. My brother, Rihgor, was born with it."

"So you're cursed," Wrath spoke. "There has to be a way to end it."

"There is. The only way how to end the curse is to kill the twin with darkness before the next set of twins is born."

Mehrcy waited for the news to sink in. Since the day his father turned cold and Rihgor disappeared, Mehrcy had kept silent about the curse. He had seen what it had done to his father when he killed his twin. Lhight had absorbed the darkness from Dhark and became the embodiment of light and darkness. The only way how to free the twin carrying the darkness was for the twin carrying light to take it. Only then would the curse be broken.

But that was where Lhight had failed. He waited too long and killed his twin when Mehrcy and Rihgor were born. The curse was already in effect. The darkness inside Rihgor had slept until the day of his transition and it began to change him. Already a host to both light and darkness, Lhight couldn't kill Rihgor. It was Mehrcy's job to free his brother and take the darkness if he ever wanted children of his own. And just like his father, Mehrcy was too late.

Not wanting to, Mehrcy was forced to look over at Sohrrow. He was looking at the floor with a disgusted look. Mehrcy remembered how close he and Ahnger were during childhood to their adult years. They even went through the transition together. Their bond had been so strong that Mehrcy believed Ahnger could overcome the darkness. He had been a fool in believing so.

When it seemed Ahnger was showing signs of darkness, Mehrcy led his son deep in the forest and told him about the curse. He told his son about his brother and his father and that there was probably a way to control the darkness. But when he told Ahnger the truth, his own son turned on him a blink of an eye. It was there that Mehrcy saw Ahnger was addicted to the power the darkness gave him. Since then, the two have been in heated battle.

"Wait," called Wrath. Everyone looked at him. Taking off his wraparounds, the king pinched the bridge of his nose and blinked a couple of times. Mehrcy took note of Wrath's eyes. He then looked down to see a dog resting behind the desk Wrath was sitting at. The way how Wrath's eyes didn't focus on anything before placing the wraparounds told Mehrcy the king was blind.

"You said only the twin can kill the other?"

Mehrcy nodded.

"Then why are you going after your son? Shouldn't it be Sohrrow who kills his twin?"

Another thing that needed to be brought out to the light. He just hoped his theory was correct.

"First of all, I wouldn't let my son kill his own brother because of an act my uncle caused for our family. Second, I believe I can end the curse if I kill Ahnger because I never killed Rihgor."

"So your twin is still alive?"

"No. I had set out to kill him when I saw the first signs of darkness attempting to take him. But when I found him, it seemed that someone else had already killed him. Whoever it was took the darkness with them and disrupted the curse. I had asked the Scribe Virgin who it was but she wouldn't tell me. So since I never fulfilled my part, I believe I can kill Ahnger and end the curse without Sohrrow getting blood on his hands."

No one made a sound. For so long Mehrcy had kept the shadow over his family a secret to protect them. He had failed them once and a second time. There was no way he would let his own son kill his twin if there was a chance he could do it himself.

Mehrcy took this chance to look at his sons. None of them looked at him. They all looked in different directions but his. What else was he to expect? His life with his family was over. There was nothing he could do to regain their trust. The only thing he could do was kill Ahnger in hopes Sohrrow's family would never have to suffer.

"You really are different," spoke Tohr.

Mehrcy quirked an eyebrow. The male nodded to Nightmahre and his brothers. "Your sons told us the first day we met you had changed. It seems they were right. I don't remember a time we worked together you were willing to sacrifice anything for others."

"People change, Tohrment."

With everything said and done, Mehrcy turned around. But the others called his name so he turned back. The males looked slightly confused as to why it looked like he was about to leave.

"This has nothing to do with any of you," he informed. He didn't give them time to speak. "I have to do this alone. And I need to find my sword if I wish to end this."

"Mehrcy. I understand that this curse affects you and Sohrrow. But perhaps—"

"Forgive me for speaking out loud but I'm no longer a Brother," Mehrcy interrupted.

All heads in the room turned towards Wrath. His mouth was still open like he was going to speak when he closed it. The muscles in his jaws tightened out of frustration. Placing both of his hands firmly on the desk, Wrath stood up and looked straight at Mehrcy even though he couldn't see.

"But perhaps you can use the help in finding your son," he said as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Maybe that will speed up your search and we can bring him here. Then we can ask the Scribe Virgin if there's anything we can do that doesn't involve you killing your own kin."

"It won't work," growled Mehrcy. "You think I haven't tried that. Before I went on this hunt, I went straight to the Scribe Virgin. She didn't so much as see me when I begged for a way to save my son. There were days when I tried to get an audience and she kept denying me. I highly doubt that since you're the king that she'll tell you what I've been demanding for so long."

Mehrcy didn't care who he was speaking to. He had thought of that question countlessly until it was hopeless. The Scribe Virgin would never see him. She wouldn't confirm his theory. The only thing that kept the theory alive in him was his son. If he was wrong, Sohrrow wouldn't be the one carrying Ahnger's blood with him all his life.

"Mehrcy."

"Listen to me!" he snapped. "Nothing will—"

He couldn't breathe. Whatever air Mehrcy possessed vanished instantly and he couldn't breathe. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor clutching his chest. Mehrcy barely heard the others surround him. The room was fading in and out until everything started blurring. Blinking once, Mehrcy was still in the study. But when he blinked the second time, he was standing in a bathroom.

The bathroom was covered in fresh steam that Mehrcy would still feel its steam. When he tried to look around, it seemed he couldn't move his head. Instead, he watched as slender arms waved in front of him and stretched above his head. Mehrcy stepped out of a shower with precise movement. They were so precise he knew he could never make them with all the practice in the world. Only a female could move in the way he was.

With the arms still stretched, Mehrcy felt the fingers run through smooth hair that stopped at the nape of the neck. He shivered when he felt the hands move down the shoulders, skimmed around a set of full breasts and rest at the slim waist.

This wasn't Mehrcy's body. The way how he couldn't move or see himself meant he was looking through someone else's eyes.

Before Mehrcy had time to panic, the person walked up to a mirror. Fog covered it from every corner that he couldn't see who was looking at it. He watched as the person placed their right hand on the left side of the mirror.

"Happy birthday," they murmured to themselves.

When they began to move their hand, the world slowed down that it seemed to take forever for them to wipe away the fog. Making an arc, the hand swiped away a part of the fog that Mehrcy saw a part of their hair. It was short and clung to the side of their face after the hot shower. Still going in slow motion, the hand made its way further down until Mehrcy saw the left eye.

Seeing through the person's vision, Mehrcy stared right at a dark blue eye. But he could barely see the blue because the pupil was so dilated it almost covered up all the blue. They eye looked to animalistic to be a person's eye. It almost looked like a wolf's eye. Just like the woman's in his dream.

Before more could be seen, the vision exploded and a flash of the black wolf with dark blue eyes baring its fangs and growling was the last thing Mehrcy saw. He was thrown out of the vision and found himself staring at the ceiling of the study. His breathing had returned to normal and he didn't feel like he was in pain anymore. All the Brothers looked down at him with worried faces. Even his sons looked worried.

Nothing like that had ever happened to him. Not once had Mehrcy ever experienced an out-of-body moment. Everything didn't make sense anymore. He knew he had strapped his sword to his waist and now it was missing. He recalled a memory so far back that he forgot about it and had a strange dream which seemed to deal with his family's curse taking the form of Sköll and Hati. Now he just saw someone through their vision and they had the same eye as the wolf in his dream.

A woman. It was a woman he saw. Mehrcy needed to find the woman he saw in the vision. He didn't know why but he had a feeling she was tied into this. Once Mehrcy found her, he would demand for answers and he wouldn't stop until he got them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Raising her nose back and sniffing the cold air, Victoria released her breath and watched the mist float up in the air. She could smell the snow would arrive in Caldwell early thIS year. And from what she smelled, it would be in the city sooner than usual. Taking another deep breath, the cold air stung her lungs with the promise of winter behind it.

Dressed in nothing but a black tank top and short shorts, parts of Victoria's tattoo showed over her shoulders. The tattoo was so huge that it covered her entire back, making it close to impossible to cover when she wasn't wearing a jacket or a shirt covering her shoulders. Her hair was still wet which she could feel cling to her face from the cold. Gripping the railing and leaning back, she shook her head like a dog and the water flew everywhere. Feeling the last drop leave her hair, Victoria ran her hand through her hair to fix it. As she did, she felt the presence inside her roll its head from annoyance.

Today was Victoria's birthday. That meant it was her tenth year of fully accepting the curse and ninth year of denying Analisse her request. Now she just had to make it to her death bed without any interruptions from the goddess or the Brotherhood. Actually, she didn't mind the Brothers. She had been cool around the Brothers two years ago and Sohrrow didn't bother her. The thing inside her seemed to ignore the brother when she saw him. If it was only them four, Victoria could live through her life without any disruption. But there was the fact that Mehrcy was now in town. And she didn't know how long he would be staying.

Victoria stepped back and slid the door back in place. Grabbing the curtain that rested next to her, she drew it across the window. Spinning on her heel, she looked at her penthouse. It looked bare and lonely. Victoria barely owned anything and what she did could fit in a bag in case she had to leave. The little TV was on the CW channel and a show had just gone to commercial. Resting in the center of the island was bowl half filled with cereal. Victoria's comforter was twisted in a strangled position and her pillows were tossed all over the place.

Besides the noise and sign that someone lived there, the penthouse felt like a cage.

Since it was her birthday and she didn't feel like being trapped, Victoria skipped over to her closet. Even it felt restless. Over the years, the two had begun to see eye-to-eye that Victoria only placed control over it to remind it she was the one controlling the body. But besides that, the two had the same goal and would see it through.

Throwing open the door and scanning her clothes, Victoria tapped her finger and puckered her lips. Checking her selection, she grabbed a park of dark skinny jeans and a black sleeveless low V-neck. Throwing on the jeans and top, Victoria snatched her black sleeveless long jacket. Around the shoulders, waist and cuffs were leather and the jacket rested around her thighs. The front running all the way to the collar propped out that the collar curled around Victoria's chin. She then reached for her leather boots and zipped up the zipper all the way up her calves.

Running her fingers through her hair for a second until it curled the way she wanted it to, Victoria turned off the TV and snatched her car keys. She didn't feel like going to The Pack tonight. Victoria wanted some action and The Pack wouldn't provide. Then there was Iron Mask. Trez ran the joint and Xhex was head of security there. But they didn't know who she was. And since Iron Mask sounded like a winner, Victoria locked up her place and headed to the elevator.

Right before she got in, her reflection showed on the elevator doors and she reached in her pocket for a pair of shades. Placing them over her eyes to hide how dilated her pupils were from the thing inside her, she stepped inside the elevator and the doors closed on her.

* * *

Even though there was a decent crowd at The Pack, Sam saw his people to could handle it. It had been a while since he had a night to himself. Since he didn't have anything to do at the moment, Sam decided to go visit Iron Mask. Taking out the new truck he bought earlier that day, he was on his way to the club when he stopped at a stop light. As he waited for the light to turn green, a Spyder came barreling down the road and sped under its fresh yellow light.

Turning the same way the Spyder was going, Sam followed the little Porsche until he watched it turn up to the club. Driving up to one of the private parking spots, the driver opened the door and stepped out. When Sam pulled up to one of the empty spots across the street, he had to blink his eyes a couple of times. He even rubbed them to make sure he was seeing things right.

Stepping out in flashy clothes and taking off her shades, Victoria held up a hundred dollar bill to one of the guards to pay for her parking. She then took out another hundred to the guard and said something. After the guard took his tip and extra, Victoria walked past the waiting line and the bodyguard guarding the door lifted the red rope for her to pass through. Once the metal door closed behind her did Sam kick open his door and slam it against the truck.

Victoria was a violinist who lived in a crappy apartment, didn't own a ride and was trying to get her name known. How the hell could she afford leather and a Spyder when she could barely pay the bills? And how could she easily wave two hundred dollars as if it was simply a one? Everything Sam knew about Victoria nowhere near added up to what he just saw. Her sudden departure and return and the random show of money didn't smell good. Sam had done some hard times when he was a kid and knew to run when someone you knew got money out of thin air. Trouble was always around the corner, waiting to strike. He got the same feeling to run when he watched Victoria enter the club.

Ignoring his instinct, Sam pulled out his phone and made at call. Talking hastily for a second, Sam hung up and waited for two minutes when V and Sohrrow materialized near the truck. Sohrrow looked like hell. Sam had left after Jane and Manny operated on Mehrcy. All he knew was the male made it and would be okay. Something must've happened if Sohrrow didn't look good.

"What's up?" V asked.

Sam nodded towards the club. "You remember Victoria?"

"How can we not? You drove into Rhage's toys with her in the back clutching for dear life like a wet cat. Why you ask? Your little violinist in a bind?"

"Not exactly."

Leaning towards the two, Sam asked if they could go in and check things out. He knew Victoria would recognize him. But since her memory was wiped from the little encounter, the males would be the best to go in. Something about the woman was off and Sam couldn't believe it took him this long to figure that out.

With the two males informed, they walked over to the club and the bodyguard let them in the same way how he let Victoria in. Standing alone in the dark, the temperature started to drop that Sam jumped back in his truck. Then he looked at the little thermometer that managed to survive the crash and saw that it was thirty five degrees. Victoria had been wearing no sleeves when she got out of her car. Since his life revolved around crazy, he found it extremely crazy she would walk out in this cold weather like it was summer without something covering herself.

* * *

Paying the bartender, Victoria swung around on her barstool and inspected the club. It was lively that night at Iron Mask. People were dancing, lights flashed in random directions, the bass of the music could be heard over the loud crowd and the drinks weren't half bad. Victoria glanced around and caught Xhex a couple of times doing her rounds before heading back to her office. Not once did the female look in her direction.

Hearing the bartender pouring her vodka in a cup, Victoria turned around when something stopped her. Tilting her head back, she sniffed the air for two strange odors stuck out. Once her nose picked up the scents, her head snapped over to the front where Vishous and Sohrrow walked in. The Brothers scanned the area before mixing in with the crowd as best as possible. But Victoria saw it. When the two scanned the area, their eyes lingered on her for a split second.

Pretending like she didn't see them, she took her cup and tossed back the drink. She had already caught their scent. Victoria smelled them approach her and she could hear their stealthy footsteps. It wasn't long when Sohrrow sighed out loud and took the stool next to her.

"How about a drink for the lovely lady?" he flirted.

Victoria smirked and looked the other way. Sure enough, Vishous was leaning against the counter on the other side. The male pretended to look interested in the party going on. It seemed she let herself slip because she got the feeling the males where there to check her out. Well, her phone was in her inside pocket. She didn't have to worry about her phone being bugged. She would just have to check her clothes to see if they tagged her.

Tossing her hair back, she watched as the bartender brought another vodka and placed it on the coaster. Sohrrow turned around and gave her a wicked smile. Victoria blushed and looked the other way, pretending to be an innocent woman blushing because she was sitting next to a hot man. This would be gold if she could tell his female he was flirting with her.

"And who do I thank for this drink?"

"You don't remember me? I was one of those guests at Sam's private gathering a couple years ago. You played for us on your violin."

"Oh! Now I remember. You're one of Sam's friends. I can't believe I forgot. Sam paid me double to play for y'all. It's been a while."

Sohrrow's smile widened. He then looked at her clothes. "Pretty fancy stuff," he said. Victoria heard a hint of curiosity in his voice. Since it was clear he was trying to weasel some info out of her, Victoria quickly figured out why he and V were with her. She must've passed up Sam since the Brother mentioned his name. The man would've known something was off if he saw her getting out of her Spyder and dressed like this.

"Boyfriend," she lied. "Likes to buy me nice things."

Watching him nod, Victoria reached down for her vodka and brought it up to her lips. Before taking a drink, her eyes darted over to V. The male had ordered a drink of his own and made a cautious look over in their direction. Victoria could see the wheels in his head turning. In fact, he might've heard their conversation over the loud noise going on.

Coming to the club had been a good idea in the beginning. But with the two males crowding her, she wasn't the only one who felt ready to snap. It felt cornered inside. The thing wanted to bare its teeth and growl at Sohrrow who was getting too close for comfort. And Victoria silently agreed. The male was too close.

Inching away, she pulled out a hundred and placed it under the cup. Giving Sohrrow an apologetic smile, she got up from the stool and waved at him.

"Leaving already?" he joked.

"Got a boyfriend to go see."

Victoria didn't wait for him to make a remark. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and calmly walked out of Iron Mask. As she did, her fingers ran through her pockets and she laughed when she touched round and tiny. Once she was outside and away from the crowd, Victoria pulled out the little bug Sohrrow managed to slip in her pocket.

Nice try. The whole smooth talk and getting closer was Sohrrow's way in bugging her. V was probably the lookout in case things went south or to make sure the male was able to do the job. She had to give Sohrrow props. He did his job with smooth talking and buying her a drink. Too bad she knew his game when the both of them entered the club together.

With the gadget still between her fingers, Victoria watched in satisfaction as she crushed it with her thumb and index finger. There were times where she was willing to play the game and simple didn't want to be dragged into things. Keeping her cool and avoiding Analisse was her plan. Long term goal was to stay as far away from Mehrcy as humanly possible. That didn't seem to work since he found her accidently twice. But she was just a kid when he saw her and he probably forgot about her. The other night was the same. He was close to dead that he wouldn't remember her. Him forgetting her was the only hope Victoria clung to if she wanted to stay in Caldwell.

Wiping her hand of any metal remains, she walked up to her car and beeped it when a strange scent caught her attention. Just like before, Victoria lifted her nose up in the air and sniffed. There was a faint yet strong scent of baby powder. A devilish grin formed. Looking down at her car, Victoria caught a glimpse of herself. Unlike the time when she stepped in the elevator or finishing her shower, her pupils weren't dilated. Instead, she was looking into someone else's eyes. Or something's. Looking back at her weren't dark blue eyes but eyes completely black.

Seeing herself smiling, the reflection smiled back and the black eyes gleamed with delight. Poor Analisse. Little did she know about what the curse did to Victoria. Now twenty five, she was the longest living Bishop woman who wasn't pregnant or raising a child. It seemed the thing inside her cheered for her success of defiance because the curse on Victoria did something to her that Analisse didn't even know about.

"Today's my birthday," Victoria said to the reflection. The reflection smiled so bright their lips pulled back to show off sharp teeth, especially the canines.

Victoria was completely unarmed. Never owning a gun and leaving Mehrcy's sword at her place, Victoria also left her own weapon behind. Not like she needed bullets or sharp blades to do her job. She never killed a _lesser_. Sure, she knew they were the enemies to the vampires and both sides tried to keep the humans out of their little war. Victoria had never seen the _lessers _but smelled their dirty scent all over the city. And since a group wasn't far off, she wanted to do something special to celebrate her birthday.

The reflection gave her an approving smile. With sharp teeth that could rip through flesh and nails growing into claws brushing against her palms, Victoria backed away from her car until she was fully engulfed by the darkness. Spinning on her heel, she started walking fast before jogging. She then turned the jog into a low run before sprinting towards the _lessers_. Tonight was a good night for a hunt.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"We have a problem."

V was on speaker for everyone in the room to hear. It was close to Last Meal that everyone was heading to the dining room when Nightmahre picked up his phone. He spoke hastily before putting the phone on speaker. When he did, V said those four words and all heads turned to the phone. However, Mehrcy was standing outside the room. He leaned against the doorframe and listened to the call.

Things were tense all around that he couldn't handle the looks his sons were giving him. He missed many things with his family. Mehrcy never knew Ehnvy and Phride were mated and had _shellans _of their own. He didn't know Rhoslyn had died and Nightmahre found another mate. Gabrielle Seeing Bird gave off the presence of a warrior bred for battle and if she wasn't heavy with child Mehrcy believed she would be in the field with her _hellren_. Mehrcy had two daughter-in-laws, was a grandfather and was expecting another grandchild. He had never felt so detached from his family that it pained him.

Burying his pain, he tried to listen to the conversation. But when V was about to explain the problem, Tohr walked up to him and gestured for him to come in. Once Mehrcy was present, Wrath gave V the okay to continue.

"Sohrrow and I were called by Sam to check out something and when we left Iron Mask, we found a group of _lessers_."

"And how is that a problem?" spoke Rhage.

"Does their organs and throats ripped clean out of their body count?"

Mehrcy was first to act. Already cleared to go back out in the field, he dematerialized before the others had a chance. His first instinct told him it was Ahnger. But he knew his son. Mehrcy knew Ahnger wouldn't leave _lessers _lying around for humans to find.

Over their years of countless fights, Ahnger would sometimes find the enemy and place himself in the middle of a battle. It was his way in provoking the _lessers _to attack. But when he was done, he would always take something and stake the enemy in the chest for them to return to the Omega. With all the darkness inside him, Ahnger still cleaned up his mess so no one would find the bodies.

Quickly rolling out the attack being from his son, Mehrcy appeared in the alley where Vishous and Sohrrow were in. A few seconds later, Tohrment showed up behind him with Rhage, Zsadist, Phury, John, Qhuinn, Blaylock, Nightmahre, Ehnvy and Phride right behind him. The human squatting by the bodies had to be Sam. Mehrcy was slightly surprised to see a human at the scene. Then again, the way how his eyes were studying the bodies and how calm his breathing was told the male the human was a warrior and had seen battle. The dog tags on the silver chain just like Gabrielle's dangled around his neck.

V waved at the males to walk up. But they could see the carnage from where they stood. There had to be at least six _lessers _in the alley. Four of them looked up at the sky with frozen wide eyes and screaming mouths. One had its back against a wall with its head drooped over its shoulder. The last one lay on its stomach with the same terrified looks of its fellow companions. Besides the looks on their faces, black blood poured out of their bodies that black pools seeped around their bodies. Just like what V had said, every single _lesser _had their throats ripped out. Huge holes showed where their stomachs and chests were supposed to be that everyone could see the ribs poke straight out like something ripped through the flesh. The _lesser _on its stomach had a huge hole ripped across his back for parks of his back bone to poke through. As for the one slumped over against the wall, his entire chest had been ripped open that everything from inside laid on his lap.

"What the hell?" gasped Rhage.

Still squatting next to a body, Sam took a broken bottle glass and tilted a head to the side. The movement revealed more of the neck. It was there were the edges of the wound could be closer inspected. "You guys don't mind for what I'm about to say sounds too cliché?" he asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Well, I think this was an animal attack."

"Okay. That does sound cliché," spoke V.

"Seriously. These wounds looked like something sunk their teeth in them and ripped clean out. And the attack on their bodies, tell me they don't look like claw marks?"

As if to prove his point, V squatted next to Sam and turned his head. He turned his head again. Turning his head for the third time, he stood up and shoved his fists in his pocket. "Damn. You're right. Didn't see this one coming."

"I so have to see this."

Qhuinn shoved past the others to get a better look. He wasn't the only one to follow. The others crowded over the bodies except for Mehrcy. He stayed in the back and waited for the others to finish observing the very dead _lessers_."

"What kind of animal would do this?"

"Wolf."

Mehrcy leaned back against a wall when he spoke. It only took one glance for him to know what kind of animal did this. The teeth and claw marks were identical to a wolf's. What struck him odd was that all the marks belonged to one wolf. One animal killed six _lessers _like it was nothing. And the bodies weren't the only thing Mehrcy had noticed.

"What makes you say wolf?" Nightmahre questioned.

Mehrcy pointed to one of the bodies. "The bite marks on the neck were instant kills. The reason why they're ripped to shreds is because the wolf kept thrashing its head around. As for the claw marks, they're wide and thick to cut through flesh. Whatever happened here, it wasn't here." Mehrcy then pointed to their shoes. "The wolf chased them. It chased the _lessers _like it was a game and toyed with them until it killed them."

For a while, no one moved. Then Phride checked his father's claimed and cursed when he found everything matching to what he said. There were hidden bite and claw marks all over the _lessers _like something was playing with them. Their shows were covered in mud and dirt like they had been running for their lives until it was too late. The wolf had its fun and finished its game by slaughtering the _lessers_.

"But why would a pack of wolves do this? And since when are their wolves in Caldwell?"

"Wolf. Not wolves. This was all made by one animal. And I don't know why."

"First your sons and now a wild wolf," muttered Tohr. He looked at the ground for a second before narrowing his eyes. Taking a few steps to the body against the wall, he went down on one knee and touched the ground. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"What?" called Phury.

"This is a footprint."

Even Mehrcy couldn't resist it. He joined the males who crowded Tohrment. Right under Tohr's fingers was half a footprint made out in black blood. Mehrcy backed up and surveyed the scene. He had been so stupid. He had assumed that the attack had been from a wolf because everything pointed to the animal. But there wasn't a single wolf print. Instead, there were human footprints everywhere. They were too small to be any of the _lessers _and too slender to be a man's. Whoever killed the _lessers _was a woman.

The dreams and vision came back. This attack had to do with the woman Mehrcy saw in the vision. She was the same one he saw in the bayou dream and had to be the same one who did this. And if she was real and he wasn't losing his mind, Mehrcy had to find her fast.

Leaving the group and kneeling by his own find, Mehrcy placed a gentle hand on the print. He quickly recoiled when something shot through his hand. Something dark and wild came from the print that Mehrcy felt something inside him react. He knew this darkness. He had felt it so long ago that it had to be impossible.

It was the same darkness he had felt in Rihgor.

Holding his shaking hand, he placed his hand back on the print and the same pain shot through him. This time, the darkness stuck him so hard that he threw out his hands to hold himself up. Knowing that this print belonged to a woman, the darkness inside her was so strong that it probably had control over her. And the fact that it felt like Rihgor's darkness meant she carried it. This woman had Mehrcy's brother's darkness inside her.

Mehrcy cringed as the darkness continued to ride over him. Closing his eyes, he saw the black wolf snap its jaws at him. Something inside the male told him to fight back. Watching the wolf growl a dominate growl, a strange presence ordered Mehrcy to fight back. With his eyes still closed, he raised his lips to a snarl and growled at the wolf. He surprised himself when it sounded exactly like a wolf's growl.

However, the black wolf responded. It stopped its growling and stared at him. Sensing it had stopped, Mehrcy opened his eyes and found himself back in the bayou. The black wolf still held its dominate position but had stopped growling. Still growling back, Mehrcy stepped forward and felt the soft ground under his paw. Just like the dream, he was a white wolf. But he bared his fangs at the black wolf and continued to growl.

The black wolf tilted its head in a sad way. Closing its eyes, the wolf lowered its head and turned around. With its back turned towards Mehrcy, he stopped his growling. When he did, he heard a pained voice in the distance.

"Stop."

Then the wolf jumped and disappeared into the bayou. Right as it did, the wolf faded away and Mehrcy found himself back in his usual body still over the print. The males were still hovering around Tohr like nothing had happened. Mehrcy collected himself as he stood up. He found his body shaking that he had to hold his arm for his body to stand still.

"So I guess we keep a lookout for a person killing _lessers _like a wolf," Phride joked.

Everyone walked their own way. Mehrcy was still standing by himself which gave him time to control his body. Sensing the other getting ready to clean up the mess and head back to the mansion, he looked once more at the print before facing the others.

"By any chance do you any of you know a female with dark blue eyes?" he asked.

Sam tripped over his feet. The human caught himself and looked at Mehrcy. Something in them bothered Mehrcy.

"Why you asking?"

"It might sound weird but I've had a dream and vision revolving around the female. There was a black wolf with the same colored eyes and I almost saw the female in a vision when the same wolf threw me out. I think this killing has to do with her."

Worried eyes glanced over at Sam. He shook his head a couple of times and took a steady breath. "Yeah, I know a person. She has the same colored eyes you just described. Did you see anything else that could help?"

"Why does it sound like this is a normal thing for you?"

"I'm sure you already met Gabrielle. She used to have visions of the future and we were in the same unit in the army. If you're having visions all of a sudden, you need to tell us everything you saw. The tiniest detail could help."

"He's right, father," spoke Nightmahre. "Sam is the best person who knows things when it comes to visions. Is that why you passed out earlier? If so, tell us what you saw."

"Fine," he said. "All I saw was the woman's eye color and hair. It was so short it barely touched the nape of her neck. I think it was light blond. She seemed pretty tall. That's all I saw. I was forced back into my body by the wolf."

Sam cursed. "I know her. She was the same person who found you the other night. But Phury saw to erasing her memory of what happened. However," Sam looked at V and Sohrrow, "she was the reason why I called these two."

"Victoria?" asked Ehnvy.

"Yeah. Something's not right about her. I don't know what but it wasn't the fancy clothes or car she owned. There's something dark about her. It was when I saw her leaving Iron Mask that I felt like I should run for the hills. Something dark and evil came from her. There's no way in hell it was human."

"You didn't mention that," spoke V.

"I was about to when y'all caught the scent of _lessers_. Then I totally forgot when we found this mess." Sam gestured to the bodies. He then looked up at Mehrcy. "If you say you saw Victoria in your vision, I think you need to see her in real life before making claims. And if you're right and she did this, we might have a problem on our hands."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Victoria was too caught up in the music she barely heard her phone ringing. Pulling her headphones around her neck, she reached across her mattress bed and snatched up the device. The caller ID said it was Sam. Looking down at her laptop to see it was twelve in the afternoon, she clicked the pause button and took the call.

"Sam," she greeted.

"Hope I'm not disturbing you."

Looking at herself, Sam wasn't disturbing anything. Bags of chips rested against her legs and her charger was hooked up to her laptop since she had been on it since morning. "Not really," she replied.

"Cool! Listen, I had booked these guys to play tonight and one of their guitarists got the stomach flu. They would've cancelled all together when I mentioned your name. I know you only play the violin but it sounded like these guys knew who you were and they're willing to perform if you'll come. Don't make me beg!"

"Um, you're kind of creepy begging. And sure. I'm a little short on cash and I can use the extra money. Tell your little band I'll be there thirty minutes before opening."

"Thanks, Victoria. You're a miracle."

After Sam hung up, Victoria tossed her phone and fastened her headphones around her ears and pressed play. She was listening to one of her performances that had been posted on YouTube nine years ago. As she listened, she went through the history browser to make sure nothing suspicious came up. It seemed someone had tried to look her up late last night and came up empty. The answer was because there wasn't anything about her to look up.

Victoria Bishop was a ghost. Everything on her and her past had disappeared when she had turned sixteen. To the outside world, she didn't exist. But for those who wanted to look for her, they wouldn't find anything. Everything about her was securely locked away on her laptop.

Now that she had something to do later, Victoria exited from YouTube and opened up one of her personal folders. With her laptop running its daily check, she clicked on the song she had been listening to on the internet. Unlike the video, this one didn't have background sound or disturbances. This had been her first song she made in New Orleans nine years ago. Placing the laptop to her side, Victoria rolled back, folded her arms under her head and stared at the ceiling as she listened to the violin play.

The title of the song was called Longing for Mercy.

* * *

Right after Victoria hung up, Sam dialed another number. The phone rang twice before V picked up.

"Do you guys feel like coming to The Pack tonight?"

"You got her to come?"

"She'll be performing. That'll give Mehrcy enough time to see if it's really her."

With everything set for tonight, Sam spun around in his chair and faced his computer. Rubbing his eyes, he kicked up his feet and leaned back in the chair. He wasn't a religious person but Sam found himself praying to God. He prayed that tonight would go off without a hitch and Victoria wouldn't be the person in Mehrcy's vision. But if she was, Sam didn't know what to do.

* * *

Parking three blocks away from The Pack, Victoria collected her violin case and headed to the bar. It was already dark outside and the lights in the bar were all on. Victoria could see through the windows the employees walking around setting things up for the night. The band was already inside setting up their equipment. She caught the occasional glimpse of Sam helping out to make sure things were in order.

Walking up to the door, Victoria stopped to look at herself. She was wearing low waist jeans, a dark red spaghetti shirt with a black long sleeve jacket that rested around her torso and some boots. The temperature outside had dropped like crazy throughout the day and it didn't bother Victoria. She couldn't feel the cold at all through her clothes.

Taking a deep breath and turning the door knob, she walked in the same time Sam turned around. His face lit up like a candle when he saw her. Leaving the waitress, Sam rushed over and hugged her.

"I'm sorry for the late notice."

"No problem. I didn't have anything to do tonight."

Leaving her friend to finish tidying things up, Victoria walked up to the stage and tossed her jacket before opening her violin case. Pulling out her violin, she brought the instrument up to her ears and plucked a couple of strings. Adjusting the strings and plucking them again, she gave a tight nod as she inspected her instrument. With it tuned and ready to play, Victoria started talking with the band. They had some extra music sheets for her to look over. As The Pack began to fill up with customers, the band continued to do their own tuning as Victoria shadowed the music over her strings. As she did, she could feel it inside her jump around from too much adrenaline.

It had been active lately. Victoria knew why. Last night had been a wild night. Victoria had tracked down the _lessers _and had watched them in the shadows. It wasn't long before she and the darkness she had been born to gave up to her instincts and chased them. Treating them like prey, Victoria chased them through the city until they thought they could take her on.

Still in hunter mode, Victoria had used her fangs and claws on the _lessers_. They screamed and ran. Victoria would show up in a flash and chased them around until one would trip. It was there she would jump them and sink her fangs in their flesh. She tore and clawed at the _lessers _until they were motionless. Knowing that they weren't truly dead, she was about to start shredding up the bodies when she smelled V, Sam and Sohrrow heading her way.

Even the darkness inside Victoria didn't argue. Once whiff of the vampires and Victoria took off. She had then returned to her penthouse, washed off the remains of the _lesser_, brushed her teeth of _lessers_ and went to bed. And even after her lazy day, the darkness was still active.

Shaking her head, Victoria got up and positioned herself next to the drummer. The guitarist and bass player stood to the left side of the keyboard player and the lead singer stood in the center. They stood in their spots while the customers took their seats and ordered their food. Tapping the mic once, the singer gathered the customers' attention and she introduced the band. Of course, she mentioned of their last minute replacement and Victoria took a bow when the customers clapped.

When the singer took the mic from the stand and took a step back, the drummer started tapping his drums. Listening for her cue, Victoria brought her violin up at the ready and slid her bow across her instrument. Matching her music with the drummer, the guitarist and bass player joined with the keyboard a second behind them. Right when the singer opened her mouth, the door opened and Victoria brought her eyes up to see who entered.

It took all her will power to continue playing. Vishous, Butch, Sohrrow and Rhage walked in.

Mehrcy was right behind them.

* * *

The group walked in right when the band started playing. Besides the singer singing and the band players playing, Mehrcy would've ignored them when he heard something play louder than the rest. Its sound was so sweet it made his body shiver with excitement. Listening to the sound, the rush and perfect flow shined past all the others. Mehrcy had no choice but to look over at the band.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Standing next to the drummer was a woman playing the violin. Swinging her hips and swaying to the music, her violin rested comfortably between her chin and shoulder as she played. Her eyes seemed distant as if she wasn't looking at all. Instead, she seemed to be listening to the music as she played. Her movements were nothing but her way in interpreting the beauty the music brought forth.

Even though her hair was so short, light blond strands swayed around her dark blue eyes. Her eyes were so dark they almost looked like sapphires. And the more Mehrcy looked into them, the more he saw the woman from his vision. He didn't need to see more of her even though he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Barely paying attention, Mehrcy was the last to notice Sam walk up to the males. He jerked his head towards the band.

"Not bad, Sammy," laughed Butch.

"Don't' call me Sammy. And they're okay. Would've been a problem if I hadn't gotten Victoria to fill in for one of their members." Sam then looked at Mehrcy. "So, is it her? Is the one playing the violin in your vision her?"

Mehrcy looked back at the woman. She was oblivious to the crowd that she did a spin while playing. As she did, Mehrcy felt time around him slow down. He watched as the woman pulled up one leg and spun on the other. Spinning in a perfect arc, she showed her back to the word. The top she was wearing failed to hide what looked like a tattoo on her back. All Mehrcy could see was a black back and ears poking around her shoulders and back. But he had seen the color and position of her tattoo in the books he had been reading. If he was right, the tattoo was of a black wolf chasing a moon. And if so, that meant there was a white wolf hiding under her top chasing a sun.

"That's her," he answered.

Sam cursed. Waving his hand, the males followed him through the crowd to his office. Once they were in and the door was closed, the only thing they could hear was the echo of the band playing. V leaned against one of the filing cabinets and crossed his arms across his chest. Butch and Rhage took the chairs facing Sam's desk. Sohrrow walked around, eying everything with slight fascination. Mehrcy decided to stand on the other side of the door in case someone needed to come in.

Taking his seat behind his desk, Sam rubbed his eyes and released a heavy groan. Giving his eyes one last rub, he looked at the males.

"You understand what kind of shit we're in?"

Mehrcy cocked his head.

"I brought her to the Brotherhood. I took the risk and brought her straight to the mansion. And now you're saying she's the same person who butchered those _lessers_. Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah. It means she might already know about us," answered Rhage.

"Who is this human?" asked V.

This time, Sam cracked his knuckles and wouldn't look the Brother in the eye when he spoke. "Truthfully, I thought she was a violinist trying to make it in the world. But after the Iron Mask incident, I tried looking her up and came back with zip. I even called in a favor from a friend and they couldn't find a single thing about her."

Vishous cursed and everyone looked at him. Unfolding his arm and stuffing his fists in his pockets, he looked at the others with a guilty face. "Sounds like bad news and I hate to add to it but remember the bug Sohrrow placed on her? Well, the signals dead."

"What?" squeaked Sohrrow.

"Dead. RIP. No signal whatsoever. She must've found it and destroyed the device. And you're not the only one to look her up. I hacked through every system known to man and couldn't find so much as a certificate."

"I know. After coming up empty, I looked up any transactions made over two years in New Orleans and couldn't find any matches during the time periods."

"New Orleans?" spoke Mehrcy.

"Yeah. I remember her mentioning NOLA when you two brought Mehrcy in. But why look up the city?" questioned Rhage.

"Because she disappeared for two years and said she had been in the city for those missing years."

Mehrcy couldn't roll out New Orleans as a coincidence. He had been in the city for two weeks nine years ago hunting Ahnger. Mardi Gras. The girl with the same mask he saw in his dream. The sight of Victoria in real life. Things were starting to add up to the point where he was afraid to believe in them. However, if Victoria really knew something about the vampires and _Lessing Society_, she might know about Rihgor and be able to tell him about his brother's darkness.

Shaking his head, he looked at the males. He could see the clocks turn in their heads. The worry of a human knowing about their race was a major threat. They had placed their trust in Gabrielle and Sam to where it sounded like they used to go into battle together. This Victoria was a wild card. She could either answer their questions or turn on them.

"Why did you sound so surprised?" The question came from Sohrrow. And it was directed at Mehrcy. His son had barely spoken to him and Mehrcy could hear the reluctance in his voice. Sohrrow wanted to be as far away as possible from his father after hearing he would kill his twin. Mehrcy knew he might as well not even try to get his son's trust back.

"Nine years ago I tracked Ahnger to New Orleans. I spent a couple of weeks there until I realized he had moved on. I haven't been back since." He kept his mouth shut about his time during Mardi Gras. He wanted to see if he was right on his own.

Luckily, the group seemed to buy it. They didn't question Mehrcy any further. They took his word and went back to talking about Victoria. There wasn't a single trace about her in any system. It was almost like she didn't even exist. The thought worried Sam and the Brothers. Mehrcy could tell what they were thinking. They probably though if they couldn't find anything about the human, she could easily disappear if she wanted to.

Time must've passed by because the music stopped and was replaced by cheers. Mehrcy perked his head to the side towards the door. His body itched to go outside to see Victoria. He wanted to confront her and ask about herself and her relation towards Rihgor and the curse. That was if she was related to it at all.

Since none of the Brothers or Sam got up to go see what was happening in the bar, Mehrcy slipped out of the office without any of them noticing and joined the crowd. It seemed the band was taking a quick break. While the group parted one way Victoria stepped off from the opposite side of the stage. Waving and thanking the customers, she made her way over to the bar.

Hesitating for a split second, Mehrcy walked towards the woman. Seeing her back facing him, he stopped a few feet away and got a better look at her back. There was more detail to the parts of the tattoo he could see. In the black were swirls of patterns hidden in the color. They were so small and precise that it had to have taken her hours at a parlor shop to get right. And this was only a glimpse. By the way how big the back and ears were, the tattoo had to cover her entire back.

Mehrcy took a step forward when someone bumped into him and shoved him right into Victoria when she turned around with a drink in her hand. Mehrcy fell against Victoria and caught himself by placing his hands past her and braced himself against the bar. With her trapped against him, she was so close to his face that Mehrcy could feel her breath over his skin. Her wide eyes fastened on his face. Under him, Mehrcy could feel her body pressing against his. The top she was wearing did little to nothing to lessen the touch of her breasts against his chest.

When she didn't say anything, Mehrcy looked right into her eyes and lost himself. Just like the way how he lost himself nine years ago.

"Um, sorry."

Still under him, Victoria backed up as far as she could go against the bar. When Mehrcy finally pulled himself back, he looked down to he her holding an empty glass. He looked at his shirt. From the smell of it, he was covered in vodka.

"It's okay. Didn't like this shirt anyways."

Victoria's worried face brightened up instantly. She then turned around to grab some towels and handed them to Mehrcy. It was clear the drink wouldn't come out. Even though, he still tried and groaned when it made things worse. At least he was wearing a jacket for the cold weather. Taking the zipper, he zipped up the jacket until the stain was hidden.

"I would offer you a drink but I think you've had too much."

Mehrcy stifled a laugh. Victoria tried to cover her laugh with a cough. The two couldn't hold it in any longer. They both laughed at the joke. As they laughed, something inside Mehrcy reacted to her voice. The only way how he could explain it was that her voice drew him towards her.

When they stopped, the both of them looked at each other. Mehrcy hoped it wasn't him who saw a slight recognition. In a way, he hoped that this woman was the same girl he met nine years ago during Mardi Gras.

Before a word could be spoken, the singer stepped up on the stage. The other band members followed. As if sensing their time up, Victoria apologized for the drink and stepped aside to join the others. Mehrcy stood there dumfounded for a second and turned around. He watched Victoria pick up her violin and talk with the band members to see which song they were going to play.

The singer started to sing when the Brothers walked out. They didn't seem to notice Mehrcy since they didn't move over to him. Shaking his head, Mehrcy walked over to the group. Sam wasn't with them.

"Well," spoke V. "I think we've done what we can tonight. Sam promised to look further into Victoria and call if anything weird happens. Until then, we'll keep a close eye on her."

Since it sounded like the group was leaving, Mehrcy was about to follow them when he stopped. Looking over his shoulder, he watched as the band prepared for another song when singer waved Victoria up to the front. None of the Brothers noticed. In fact, they were already out the door heading to the Escalade.

Mehrcy held back. Then Sohrrow looked over at his father to see what was holding him up. He just gave his son a wave. Mehrcy knew he was on a short leash because of his sudden arrival. The Brotherhood weren't too keen on trusting him just yet no matter how good he was back in the days. But it's not like he knew anyone in the city except for the Brothers and his sons. So when he gave Sohrrow the wave, his son turned around without a second glance.

Turning back around, Mehrcy watched Victoria blush when the singer whispered something in her ear and turned towards the crowd. Victoria leaned back to the singer and whispered something back. The singer then stepped back and gave Victoria the front.

"Looks like our friend here wants me to lead things off," she joked.

The customers laughed. Bringing her violin to its position, she nestled her chin on the instrument.

"This is an original. Hope you guys like it."

Mehrcy watched as Victoria dragged her bow across the strings in a slow motion. Listening to the first note, the bass player found a spot and started playing. Coming back up, Victoria's fingers started sliding up and down the strings the same time she drew the bow up in a fast motion. Then the drummer and keyboard player jumped in. Right when Victoria started speeding things up and coming back down to a slow pace for a few notes, the guitarist played and the singer opened her mouth.

"This is Longing for Mercy!"

The customers cheered when the singer stepped back for Victoria to play. It was clear they were listening for her to guide them through the song. She just closed her eyes and played with her heart. As she did, Mehrcy repeated the title in his head. The name of the song wasn't a coincidence. His brief talk, her eyes and now the song. She had to be the same girl he met so many years ago. But as she played, Mehrcy couldn't wrap his mind around her knowing anything about the darkness. Victoria's voice was in her music and it was too pure for anything dark to touch her.

Mehrcy didn't know it until the song was halfway over. Half of his mind told him he was right. And the other half didn't want her to get more involved in his world if she already was. Mehrcy didn't want Victoria part of the war between his family and the curse he failed to end.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"You've been very active."

The black wolf grunted and kept its back to Victoria. She shrugged. She wasn't looking at the wolf either. Instead, she sat on a log and dangled her toes over the bayou water. The world around them was a conjuration of Victoria's mind. It was simply a replica where she had learned to gain control of the beast the darkness liked to take form of. Since then, it was the black wolf's home.

It was night in the bayou. Victoria caught the glows of gator eyes that passed by and the branches shook from birds taking flight. A snake slithered over Victoria's hand and hissed at her when she moved. Watching the snake find its way into the water and disappear in the black, she tossed her head over and looked at the wolf. It sat on its hunches looking far in the distance. With its ears perked up and sitting proper, it paid little attention to her.

"Been in Caldwell for barely seventy-two hours and I'm being forced to pack up."

The wolf tilted its head to the side.

"I can't stay here. Mehrcy is already suspicious and he has the Black Dagger Brotherhood behind him. And from the looks of it, they're suspicious as well. And you know Analisse. She'll be here any minute and chew out my ass for not handing it over to Mehrcy."

Victoria heard the wolf draw back its lips and growl. It was there the wolf looked over its shoulder. Its black eyes looked at her with anger held towards the goddess. Strange how darkness could interpret and show off anger instead of sticking with madness.

"It's the only way to protect him," Victoria replied.

The wolf shook its head and stood up. Turning around in a perfect circle, it walked up to Victoria and placed its heavy head on her shoulder. Since the two had a common goal, they had made a truce long ago. Victoria had complete control over the darkness Analisse gave her and would sometimes give it room to run around. The little freedom in exchange for control was how Victoria survived all those years. Just like the changes the curse gave her, Analisse didn't know about her relationship with the darkness.

Raising her hand, she rubbed the wolf's snout and it whined under her touch. It then pulled back and licked the tattoo on her back. In the real world, Victoria always had something covering her back. But in this world, her tattoo showed. The part the wolf licked was the black wolf on the upper part of her back. In a perfect arch, the wolf's jaws were open as it chased a white crescent moon made entirely of swirls and patterns. Under the black wolf was a white wolf chasing white sun designed like the moon. Highlighted in white, the white wolf was also made out of swirls and patters just like the black wolf above it. Running in a perfect circle, the two wolves chased their symbol in a never ending chase.

Licking the black wolf once more, the black wolf lowered itself on its stomach and rested its head on Victoria's lap. Placing a gentle hand, she stroked its thick fur. It whimpered under her touch and shifted for her to give it a better stroke.

"I was starting to get a little homesick. Now I have to leave again before settling in." The wolf whined in agreement. "Let's just hope Mehrcy leaves so I can return before I die. It'll suck if he's still here."

Closing her eyes and opening them, Victoria found herself staring straight up at her ceiling. Even with the curtains pulled she could still see the morning light peep under. Rolling around, Victoria buried her face in her pillows. Holding her breath close to a minute, she rolled off her mattress bed and walked over to her curtain. Opening her mouth and yawning, she grabbed her curtain and peeked outside.

She had been right. The snow for the year came early. Little white dots floated from the sky and drifted all over the city. A pleasant farewell since she would be leaving later that day.

* * *

Not having anywhere to be, Sam had locked up the bar and caught a few winks in the room above when he woke up to work. He had to find something on Victoria Bishop or it would drive him insane. Setting up the coffee and turning on his computer, Sam flopped down and waited for the screen to pop on. As he waited, he turned around to the security monitor that was always on twenty-four seven.

Sam slapped himself on the forehead. With everything going on, he completely forgot to look through the footage in case he saw Mehrcy's sword. The male didn't mention it last night since they were busy figuring out their problem. But since the computer was taking its precious time loading, Sam snatched the remote resting on his desk and rewound the footage.

Going back three nights ago, Sam stopped the footage from the camera perched outside under the back door and watched it. The time was about twenty minutes before Victoria ran in calling for help. Watching the footage going on three minutes, Victoria stepped out and seemed to head out when she nearly toppled over. The movement caught Sam's attention. Then the footage had his full attention when he watched some trash bins fall over. From this angle, Sam could barely make out Mehrcy. But as he watched Victoria walk over to the male, his eyes locked on the time.

Victoria didn't come in until twenty minutes later and yet four minutes had passed. Why did she wait so long before seeking help?

Sam instantly got his answer.

Watching Victoria, she bent down to check the male. When it was clear he was unconscious, she leaned over to his waist and got back up to her feet. In her hands was a sword in its sheath. She twirled it around before holding it in the center. Taking one hand and placing it on the hilt, Victoria looked down at Mehrcy and around the alley. She then walked off with the sword and didn't return until thirteen minutes had passed. That's when Victoria ran inside and called Sam.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered.

Seeing his computer was working, Sam immediately looked up the address Victoria had given him. The place was real and so was the apartment. He and Phury had dropped her off at the place. But after going through the books and rented rooms, the room Victoria supposedly rented had no renters. The room was completely free.

Sam typed in a few codes and his computer went to work on facial recognition. Thanks to V who updated his computer, Sam could do things easier such as looking for someone they needed to look out for. Waiting for six minutes, the computer flashed green a few times on Victoria's face until a pattern was formed. Taking snapshots, the computer showed Victoria entering and leaving one of the buildings deep in Caldwell. And it was one of the expensive buildings that housed penthouses for the insanely rich.

Going through the security cameras and finding Victoria on the top floor, Sam wrote down the number and grabbed his jacket and gun. It decided to snow overnight and it was freakishly cold outside.

* * *

The snow kept a steady pace. There wasn't much and it wasn't coming down to hard. It made it easier for Sam to drive into town and find the building. Parking on by the sidewalk, he looked at the number he had written and looked up at the building. There were fifty floors in the place. Sam thanked God for elevators. There was no way in hell he was going to walk up fifty flights of stairs.

Checking out the front, there was a lobby with a security guard at the desk. There was no point in going through the front. These types of buildings paid the guard to call first before letting someone in. Sam would have walk around and go in through the garage since he saw the connected walkway.

Turning off his truck and getting out, Sam walked across the street and pretended to head another way. The guard at the desk looked up once and went back to doing whatever. Sam looked over his shoulder and took a sharp turn into the garage. There was an elevator by the front and he pushed the button which would lead him to the floor with the walkway. Going up to the seventh floor, the elevator doors opened and Sam made his way to the walkway.

Entering and walking over to the building, he poked his head out through the doors to check the lobby. The guard was too busy arguing with someone on the phone that he didn't look up when Sam made his way to the elevators. Clicking the top button, the doors closed and the elevator zoomed up. As he watched the number ticked by, Sam pulled out his phone and dialed Gabrielle's number. The Brothers had to be asleep since it was barely eleven. Gabrielle would be more forgiving if he called her instead of the others.

Stepping out of the doors when he got to the top and walking down the hallway, the phone rang for the fifth time when Gabrielle picked up.

"Hey, Sam. Smart in calling me. Imaging what the others would've done."

"I know. Am I waking you up?"

Gabrielle laughed. "Not really. Although, Hohnihohkaiyohos isn't taking it so well here." Gabrielle was referring to Nightmahre by the Cheyenne name she had given to him. She rarely called him by his real name unless she was angry with him.

"Just tell the others I might have a lead on Victoria. I'll check-in in ten to see if I'm right or wrong. But if I don't call back in fifteen, I'm in deep shit."

"Got it. You better call in ten."

Hanging up, Sam stood in front of the door. He scanned the hallway in case anyone walked out. Out of habit, he looked up in case of a trap. But when he did, Sam spotted a tiny camera hidden in a corner facing the door. A tiny red light meant it was live and recording.

Cursing, Sam reached for his gun and took it off of safety. Flattening himself against the wall, he tested the door to feel it locked. In one movement, he jumped in front of the door and kicked it in with one kick. The door flew open and slammed against the wall. Bringing his gun up at the ready, Sam slowly stepped inside.

The penthouse looked empty. In the distance was the sound of water running. Watching his footing, Sam inched closer to where he could see the kitchen. There was no running water. The sound must be coming from the bathroom. Scanning the room, there was a backpack and suitcase with clothes lying around them. Across the room was a wall window that had its curtain drawn back. Sam watched the snow collected on the balcony outside.

Sam made his way to the bathroom. The water was still running. As he grew closer, he got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. The room was too quiet. He had made a loud entrance in kicking the door in. Surely someone would've heard him.

Once Sam was close to the door leading to the bathroom, he pushed the door and it swung open.

The room was empty.

"Sam."

Spinning around and aiming with the intent to shoot, Sam caught a glance of Victoria right when she grabbed his wrist and twisted it. Watching the gun fall out of his hand, Sam threw a punch and gasped when Victoria caught it with such ease. Rearing her head back, she swung it forward and smashed it against his head. The impact was so strong that the only thing Sam saw was her bringing her head forward and the lights went out.

* * *

Taking a water pitcher and filling it up to the rim, Victoria walked around the kitchen and splashed it all over Sam. He jerked awake and nearly fell over in the chair he was tied to. Victoria didn't take any shortcuts when she tied him to the chair. Arms and wrists securely tied behind him to the chair's frame, both legs tied tightly to the front chair legs and almost his entire chest strapped in rope to the chair, Sam had close to no movement. The only thing he could do was glare at her under his wet hair and growl past the gag.

Victoria tossed the pitcher and pulled up another chair. Sitting down and folding her legs, she placed her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on top of her palms. She quirked her eyebrow when Sam tried to move around and only made his chair jump an inch.

"Was this really necessary?" she asked.

A growl came from Sam.

Rolling her eyes, Victoria reached behind her and showed off Sam's phone. Going through his contacts, she tilted her head to the side when she saw his history. There was a number without a name above it. Tilting her head to the other side, she scrolled down his contacts and found more numbers without names.

Doing another tilt of the head, she flipped the phone to the back and took out the battery. She was on the verge of taking out the memory card when she did another tilt. Then she tossed the phone across the room.

"I'm sure the Brotherhood will be able to track you if the card is still in the phone."

Sam stopped moving.

"That's right. I know about the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Well, actually, I know some things. I'm not an expert like you and Gabrielle are when it comes to them and the _lessers_. And I'm guessing you called them before coming here in case things went south. But come on, Sam. Coming here without any backup and during the day? I thought you soldier types were smarter than that."

Hopping off her chair, Victoria strutted past Sam and went to the floorboard next to her bed. Lifting up the board, she tossed it to the side and pulled out a case a bit bigger than a baseball bat and Mehrcy's sword. Reaching in the hidden compartment and pulling out a couple more things, she tossed them on the bed and walked back to Sam with Mehrcy's sword in hand.

Removing the sword from its sheath, its black blade glittered in the light. Holding it in one hand, Victoria swung it in a perfect circle and held it like a fencer. Swinging it down to her right side, she held the sheath at her left hip and smoothly placed the sword back in its sheath.

"You have to admit this is pretty cool."

Another growl.

"From the way you're glaring, you know whose sword this is. Mehrcy must be wondering where his personal weapon could be. Should've gone through your security cameras earlier. Although, I probably should've done that to erase any evidence. Oh well. After the Brothers find you, you can tell them I have Mehrcy's sword. Not like it's going to matter. I'll be long gone before then with this in tow."

Swinging the sheathed sword around, Victoria winked at Sam as she walked past him towards her bed. Folding her clothes nicely, she placed her personal objects at the very bottom of her bag and suitcase before covering them with her clothes. Placing the last item in her bag, she zipped them up and carried her stuff to the door. Leaving there for a second, Victoria walked back and packed up her violin that was waiting on her bed.

Placing the instrument in its case, she worked the strap to fit on her shoulder and tossed the other case over her other shoulder. Holding Mehrcy's sword in one hand, Victoria skipped back over to Sam. He was still testing the rope restraining him. Tapping him on the shoulder, she looked down at him when he looked up at her. His eyes held wounded pride and intent to kill.

"I would leave you up but…" She gave him a gentle shove and the chair fell sideways. Falling on the right side, Sam grunted on impact and did his best to holler past the gag. Victoria gave him a playful smile. "What? You would've probably figured a way to hop all the way to the phone in the kitchen and tried to dial for help with your nose. Can't have you giving them a heads up on my way out. Anyways, it was good seeing you again. But word to the wise, don't come looking for me, Sam. You won't find me."

Leaving him on the floor, Victoria turned away and collected her belongings. She waved over her shoulder as she opened and closed the door on Sam. Walking down the hallway and entering the elevator, she stayed cool and composed all the way down to the walkway and to her car. Loading the trunk, her fingers lingered on Mehrcy's sword and the case almost the same size. She shook her head and loaded the two. Closing the trunk, she walked over to the driver's side of her Spyder and turned the Porsche on.

Once she pulled out of the garage and driving down the street, Victoria looked up at her rearview mirror. Her pupils were dilated again. This time, she felt the understanding inside her. This was the only solution. Victoria had to leave Caldwell before Mehrcy found her on purpose. If he did, he would never let her go.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Mehrcy didn't stop when he heard someone enter the room. After arriving back at the mansion and unable to sleep, he found his way down to the gym and had been practicing on a wooden dummy or also known as a Mook Yan Jong ever since. Not only was Victoria Bishop on his mind, he felt completely naked without his sword. Not having his weapon was driving him crazy that he went faster and faster on the Mook Yan Jong. Only wearing black sweats and his hair tied back in a secure tie, Mehrcy nearly moved in a blur throwing his punches and kicks.

Throwing a punch and spinning on his heel, he continued the attacks when he saw Nightmahre staring at him. His son was holding two wooden swords in one hand and a sheathed sword in the other. Forgetting his son for a moment, Mehrcy focused on his attacks. Blocking and attacking the wooden log's arms, the male sidestepped around to the other side and threw low kicks at the low arms followed up by barrages of punches.

"How about fighting something that'll fight back?" taunted Nightmahre.

Mehrcy grunted and ignored his son. His mind was too focused on two questions that attacking the Mook Yan Jong seemed like a good idea. Finding his sword was a major priority. He didn't plan on fighting Ahnger with only his hands. He hated daggers and detested guns. The only weapon Mehrcy would ever use was the sword he made with his own two hands and nothing else.

The other was Victoria. There was no mistaking the frustration the Brothers felt towards the human. A woman who didn't have anything on her would play on a person's mind and drive them crazy. Just like what it was doing to Mehrcy. There was also something else about the female that bothered him. He had felt a flicker of recognition when he saw her up close. It was after he had left The Pack that he wasn't the only one and now he was trapped in the mansion until night to confront her. She knew who he was and kept silent. He was positive.

Mehrcy would've gone faster if it wasn't for his son patting him on the shoulder. Giving an arm one more punch, he grabbed it and gasped for air. As he leaned over the Mook Yan Jong, he could feel his son's eyes look over him. He and Nightmahre had been close to where his first born was the only one to learn the way of the sword. Nightmahre had seen old wounds over his father's body and could tell which ones were new.

On Mehrcy's back was his former _shellan's _name. The name Ahva was branded in his skin and under the name were faded scars. Across his arms were scars almost like the ones on his back and more on his chest going down to his waist. Unlike the scars that seemed more a part of him, the new ones still had hard skin around them and it made it difficult for Mehrcy to adjust to on occasions.

Sensing the one Nightmahre was staring at, Mehrcy tapped the two scars extremely close to one another that rested on his left shoulder blade.

"Nineteen-fifty. Chicago. I found your brother there. One of the toughest battles between us. Barely made it out of there."

"Just like how you were brought in a few days ago?"

"Worse. Took me weeks to heal." Turning around to face his son, Mehrcy watched those golden eyes narrow on the scar under his heart. That one hadn't been there before. Tapping it, he explained. "August seventh nineteen twenty-two. This was the first one Ahnger gave me. Missed my heart on purpose. This was his way of telling me he didn't want my help. Left me in the woods to bleed."

Nightmahre was silent for a while. He then cleared his throat to speak. "I went looking for the two of you. All I found was blood. Why didn't you come to us?"

"Because I failed your brother," answered Mehrcy. "It was my duty to protect my family and I have failed so many times. So I'm trying to right my wrongs and that's why I'm looking for Ahnger. I'm the only one who can kill him. I'm the only one who can take the darkness and live with it. Not Sohrrow. He doesn't deserve the pain the darkness will bring. It changed my father and I don't want him to have the life Lhight went through. This is something I have to do."

Mehrcy watched his son. Nightmahre was no fool. His son had seen what great lengths his father took to protect his family. He truly was no longer the coldhearted Brother who served the Brotherhood. Mehrcy found a home with Ahva and gave her five sons. The male taught his sons how to fight to protect their own families and taught them the meaning of family. Hearing the reason why he was back and hunting Sohrrow's twin was so that Sohrrow wouldn't feel the hurt in killing Ahnger.

When Mehrcy turned to continue his practice, Nightmahre threw the sword he had been holding. Catching it, Mehrcy pulled the sword out of its sheath. The sword gleamed with light. It was clear that the sword was new since it reflected the light with such ease. The edges of the blade were perfectly cut and possessed no chips in it. Sheathing the sword, Mehrcy looked at Nightmare.

"I figured that since you don't have you're sword, you can borrow mine."

"This isn't your sword."

"It broke a couple of years ago. Had to get it replaced. And before you say no, I already have a couple of weapons of my own. The Brothers make us go out in battle with at least one gun and a black dagger."

Mehrcy held out the sword. "I still can't take this. It's your sword."

"Too bad."

Nightmahre tossed his father one of the wooden swords. Mehrcy caught it with his other hand and looked at his son. With the sword still in his hand, he propped it against the Mook Yan Jong. Then Mehrcy flexed his fingers over the wooden hilt. It felt good to feel something resembling a sword in his hands.

"Until we find your sword, you're using mine. Now let's see if your skills have stayed intact all these years."

Placing two hands around the hilt, Nightmahre took his stand and held the sword in front of him. Sensing a fight he couldn't get out, Mehrcy spun the sword around once before grabbing it with his hands and taking the same stance.

One of them was about to make a move when the door flew open. Both of the males looked over to see a very pissed Gabrielle. She was wearing a pair of sweats and an oversized shirt that didn't belong to her. One hand rested under her belly while the other one held the door open. Her hair fell over her shoulders and her bangs curled around her narrow eyes. It almost looked like she was grinding her teeth.

"I'm going to kill him," she hissed. "I'm going to fucking kill him!"

Completely forgetting his father, Nightmahre appeared next to Gabrielle. Bringing her hand from the door, she drew it in a tight fist and looked like she was about to punch it right through the door. Mehrcy lowered his sword. The female had a temper like a Brother and he was sure she had the strength to match theirs. Her glare was terrifying enough.

"Gabrielle, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that Sam has failed to check-in and I'm going to kill him!"

"You mean—"

"Yeah. He went after that Victoria chick on his own and has failed to respond. I called his cell twice and still he hasn't called back. That asshole! I'm so going to kill him!"

Nightmahre looked at Mehrcy. From the sound of things, it didn't sound like the human would fail to check-in on any situation. The fact that he went on a lead by himself revolving Victoria and failed to call back wasn't good.

As if sensing what he was thinking, Mehrcy joined his son the same time he and his _shellan _sped off down the hallway outside the gym. Mehrcy had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. What if Sam made Victoria run off? What if Sam was dead and Victoria was the one who killed him? Everything about the situation was bad and it would get terrible if the human didn't call.

* * *

Still on the floor, Sam did his best to kick himself towards his gun. Victoria had left it on the floor after she had knocked it out of his hand. She didn't seem too interested in the weapon since it was still in its spot. In fact, she seemed more interested in the sword she now contained. Mehrcy would be pissed when he told the male who had his sword and that they were probably in the next state or father.

But since the time Victoria left to sun down, all Sam managed to do was drain himself of energy and rotate a bit in the chair. He was still bound to the chair and no closer to getting to any solid object. So he gave up and thumped his head against the floorboard.

As he laid there, he thought of Victoria. She knew everything. She basically confessed her dark secrets in front of him. The woman knew about the vampires and the _lessers _and Mehrcy to top things off. Even though she sounded wary about her facts of the first two, it almost sounded like she was an expert on Mehrcy. And the way how she handled the male's sword, Sam had the creeping suspicion she might know how to use it.

Looking over at the window, the sun had gone down fifteen minutes ago. Tearing his gaze from the window and looking at the gun once more, Sam made another sorry attempt in reaching it. He was on the way in making a complete half spin when the doorknob jiggled. Victoria had looked the door since it seemed the kick in did little damage. Hearing it jiggle made Sam hasten his attempt.

Making one miserable jump towards the gun, the doorknob turned and the door eased open. Walking into the shadowed room was Zsadist, Rhage, Ehnvy and Phride. Sam's breathing returned to normal and his head dropped to the floor.

The males looked at the human for a second. Then Z and Phride checked the penthouse in case there was someone in there. When Rhage made a move towards Sam, Ehnvy caught the male by the shoulder. Even though they couldn't see his hands, Sam made an are-you-kidding-me gesture with his hands. To his horror, he watched Ehnvy pull out his phone and aim it at him. There was no mistaking the snapping sound from the camera.

"Okay. Now untie him."

Rhage made quick work on the ropes. Taking one of his daggers, he sliced the ropes binding Sam's wrists and his upper body. Sam ripped the gag from his mouth the same time Rhage freed his legs. Once he was untied, Sam kicked the chair and it slid right into the kitchen counter. He then stretched his limps before finding his feet. His legs were slightly numb and he couldn't feel his fingers. It took a few seconds before the blood found its way back to the deprived parts.

Phride walked over to stand by his brother and Z picked up the gun and handed it back to Sam. Out of habit, he checked the chamber to find the bullet and placed the gun back in the back of his pants.

"Do we even want to know how you were overtaken by a female?" asked Rhage.

"Fuck off. And where the hell is Mehrcy?"

"Our father is outside with Nightmare. They're with V and Tohr keeping an eye on the streets," spoke Phride.

"Well, go and get the bastard! And get the others. We need to get Victoria before she falls off the map!"

Right when Rhage took out his cell to make the call, Tohr, V and Nightmahre came barging in through the door. There was a panicked look Nightmahre's face. Tohr and V looked furious more than panic.

"Mehrcy took off," spoke Nightmahre.

"What?"

"He just took off and we can't find him."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

It was snowing when the Brothers showed up at the penthouse. While Zsadist, Rhage, Ehnvy and Phride went in to fetch Sam, Tohrment and Vishous stayed outside with Mehrcy and Nightmahre to make sure the streets were safe. Palming the hilt in his hand, Mehrcy couldn't get the right feel. The sword felt strange in his hands. It was clearly made for his son and only him. There was no way Mehrcy could fight with another person's weapon.

While the others kept a close eye on the streets, Mehrcy leaned his head back and watched the snow fall. Even though it was only November, the snow was early. Mehrcy didn't know if that was a good or bad sign. All he could do was draw in a freezing breath and watch the snow fall around him.

As he took in that deep breath, his head snapped over to his left. His whole body vibrated for battle and the scent he had caught was strong. The only reason why he would react that way was if something filled with darkness was around. And from his reaction and the smell, there was only one person who contained all those traits.

Mehrcy didn't think. Taking another whiff to confirm the location, the male dematerialized and reappeared on a bunch of buildings until he was on the other side of town. Appearing on the last building, he inhaled and coughed. The scent was strong. His target had to be only a couple of blocks away from him. And that wasn't the only scent Mehrcy picked up. There was someone in that direction and blood. Lots of blood.

Keeping his hand on the hilt, Mehrcy inched over to the edge of the building. Looking down, there was a light shining in an alley across the street. There were little shops occupying the alley and had shutters and bars protecting them for the night.

A lamp post illuminated the alley. There was no mistaking the soaked snow. The white was no longer white but red. Surrounded in red snow were three bodies. None of them had the scent of a _lesser_ and they were too scrawny to be vampires. It was clear the people dead were human.

Dematerializing and appearing next to one of the bodies, Mehrcy knelt down to see how long they had been dead. Their wounds were still fresh. Whoever made the kill had just done it and wasn't far. In fact, they were still in the area. Feeling his body stiffen, Mehrcy took a steady breath and stood up very slowly. He wasn't surprised that he was waiting for him. What was surprising was that he didn't attack the male with a sneak attack.

Ahnger always liked using sneak attacks.

Leaning against one of the shops was Mehrcy's son. Covered from head to toe in black, the open black jacket flapped in the wind. While his black hair was short and spikey in the back, Ahnger's bangs were so long in the front that he had two braids on the side of his face and the rest curled around his eyes. They were no longer dark gold like his brothers'. They were completely black.

Strapped to his waist were two sheaths. Over the years, it seemed Ahnger had picked up a fighting style which required twin blades. They were smaller than Mehrcy's sword that they barely reached the same size of the male's arm. They were so small that they were deadly. Ahnger learned how to use them and the style had made it harder for Mehrcy to kill him.

Tossing his head, Ahnger's bangs drifted over his eyes. He gave his father a sly smile. There were faint blood stains on his clothes that one could miss them. Mehrcy saw the stains instantly.

"Killing humans again?" he asked.

"Please. Those sons of bitches had it coming. Thought it would be wise to mug me. It's been decades since I killed humans and I needed an outlet. They willingly volunteered."

Still smiling, Ahnger pushed himself from the wall and stalked over to his father. A dark energy rolled off the male's body. It was the energy of the darkness that lived inside him. The darkness fed Nightmahre its madness which made him stronger. There were times where he was almost stronger than Mehrcy.

To prove the incredible strength, Ahnger attacked. He didn't have to get in a position or anything. He didn't even reach for his blades. The males simply charged at his father and jumped in the air. Out of habit, Mehrcy brought out Nightmahre's sword and used it to block Ahnger's attack. Mehrcy grunted when he brought the sword out too fast and flinched when Ahnger came down on the sword with a kick.

The weapon was too light. Mehrcy's sword had been made specifically for him and it was clear Nightmahre's was the complete opposite. Since it was so light, Ahnger's attack sent tremors down the blade and to his arm. He flinched from the vibrations and pushed his son away. Ahnger must've noticed Mehrcy's reaction because he snickered.

"Isn't this awkward? What happened to your sword? Lose it or something?"

Mehrcy attacked. Swinging the sword, he had to hold a firm grip on the hilt brought it across Ahnger's stomach. He missed but almost made it all the way around his body. The sword was too damn light that Mehrcy could barely feel it. Because of the situation, Ahnger took the opportunity and pulled out one of his blades.

Coming down, he caught the sword in mid-swing jerked it up. Mehrcy brought his arm up in time when Ahnger rotated his blade and attempted to slice him across the shoulder. Jumping back, Mehrcy decided to sheath the sword. It wasn't working. Mehrcy would have to rely on his martial arts if he wished to make it out.

"Whose sword is it? I mean, it's not like you can go to a store and buy one."

"You're brother's."

Ahnger's smile faltered. Placing his blade back in its sheath, he narrowed his black gaze. "What do you mean?" he questioned.

"Nightmahre. This is his sword. And he's not far away. Ehnvy and Phride are with him. And so is the Black Dagger Brotherhood. So enough bullshit and lets do this unless you feel like being interrupted."

Nothing more was said. In one fluent movement, Ahnger drew his blades and took his stance. One sword faced Mehrcy and the other one was drawn around Ahnger's waist with the blade curving around his back. Mehrcy spread his legs and raised his arms with his hands open.

"La pomme ne tombe pas loin de l'arbre."

The voice came behind Mehrcy. He didn't get the chance to turn around. Someone had kicked out his legs and he buckled to the ground. Catching himself with his hand, something swept at his hand and knocked it under him. Falling to his chest, he looked up to see who his attacker was. Ahnger backed up an inch and that coy smile was back.

Right when Mehrcy was about to get up, a sheath flew inches from his face and crashed hard against the pavement under him. When the person released the sheath, it stuck up in a perfect line. Mehrcy's knew the sheath. It was his sword. When he looked up to see who had brought it, his eyes widened in disbelieve.

Victoria stood in front of him.

Holding a case slung over her shoulder, her hand was placed on her hip and she leaned on one leg. She wore a black sleeveless turtleneck that was missing a back. The only things connecting the top were two laces that were stitched around the shoulders and went under the arms. Victoria wasn't wearing a bra which meant Mehrcy could see the giant tattoo of Sköll and Hati perfectly on her back. Covering her arms up to her shoulders were black fingerless gloves. Covering her black skinny jeans and strapped all the way up her calves were laced combat boots.

"Is this backup?" laughed Ahnger.

"Dit l'enfant en utilisant deux lames au lieu d'un."

Both Mehrcy and Ahnger cocked their head. Raising her hand, Victoria sighed and waved her hand. She wasn't wearing much and it was freezing outside. The way how she acted and looked at Ahnger seemed as if the cold wasn't touching her at all. Even Ahnger took another inch back when his eyes scanned her clothing.

Looking over her shoulder, she looked down at Mehrcy. He had one hand clamped around his sheath but couldn't lift it. The weapon was deep in the concrete that it would take him a while to get it out. As Mehrcy looked at Victoria, he felt something come from her.

It was annoyance.

"How about we call it quits and continue this later?" she suggested.

"Oh! She speaks English! I thought I would have to find a dictionary and start translating. French, right?"

"Et le trou du cul a vraiment un cerveau."

"Why do I get the feeling you just cursed me out?"

"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. You want to take my offer?"

Ahnger laughed. "Foolish human," he snickered. "You shouldn't be here. You have no idea what you've just gotten yourself into."

Victoria held out her hand and gave Ahnger the finger.

He charged at her. Mehrcy yelled at her to move but Victoria stood her ground. Ahnger brought both of his blades from the side and would've sliced Victoria right in the middle when they were stopped. Angling the case to block the attack on her left, Victoria caught the other blade with her bare hand and stopped it. Not a single blood drop rolled on the blade. Using her hand and the case, she pushed the male back and he skittered at least seven feet back.

A dark presence rolled off her body. It wasn't only Mehrcy who felt it. Ahnger drew back his lips and hissed. From all his years tracking his son, Mehrcy had felt something like that coming from his son. But this one felt different. It was the darkness that Mehrcy was feeling. Unlike his son's darkness which was ready to go into battle and kill, this one felt old and wary. And it was coming from Victoria.

Rolling her neck, she brought case around. Flicking her fingers against the locks, they opened and it fell open. Almost in slow motion, the case opened and two objects fell out. Releasing the case, Victoria's hands reached out to two hilts and time resumed with her holding one blade above her head and the other one around her side.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Did you really think you were the only one, Ahnger?"

"How do you know my name?"

"Please, I could smell you a mile away. Your scent was so strong that it topped everything else. Just standing here makes me want to gag." As if to prove her point, Victoria sniffed out loud and made a gagging sound. "And like I said. Did you really think you were the only one? You do know your old man never killed his twin?"

Mehrcy jumped up to his feet, forgetting his sword. "How do you know about Rihgor?"

Victoria laughed. Not a snicker or a giggle. She raised her head and laughed out to the sky. Bringing her head back, the air around her changed. And it wasn't only the air. Her appearance began to change. Her nails extended to where they turned into claws. Her teeth sharped, especially her canines. Then her eyes changed. Her pupils dilated until they almost engulfed her dark blue.

"You haven't figured it out yet," she growled. "And you don't recognize these," she gestured to Ahnger. Another laugh came from her and it was mixed with a growl.

"These twin blades and darkness inside me once belonged to Rihgor."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"My family killed Rihgor."

Mehrcy heard her words. He just couldn't believe her. Mehrcy knew that his brother had been killed and someone had taken the darkness with them. But somewhere in the back of his head, he wished the darkness would've faded over time since the curse had been disrupted. Now here it was. Rihgor's darkness, the very one he was supposed to take the darkness from to spare his family, was inside Victoria.

Instead of Ahnger making a move, Victoria leaned back for a second. Then she bolted right at the male. She was so fast that Ahnger barely had time to bring his blades up in a defense position. Moving in a black blur, Victoria jumped up and threw a kick. Making contact with the blade, she pivoted on her heel and threw another kick which connected against Ahnger's jaw. Landing on her feet, she ran up to the wall of the alley and ran up it before jumping in the air. With her blades at the ready, she came down at Ahnger in a circle. The blades clinked against his at an incredible speed.

Victoria landed on her feet and ran around Ahnger in half a circle. Coming up to his right side, she thrust one blade which Ahnger blocked. But she turned around and brought the other blade down from above. Using his other blade to block her attack, Ahnger accidently left his center open and Victoria followed the attack by bringing her blade from the bottom up. She made contact and only grazed Ahnger since he jumped back.

She didn't let up. In fact, she looked like she was playing with Ahnger. Her attacks were random and didn't have a pattern. Victoria would attack low and throw a kick from above or vice versa. There were times where she would jump from the walls and attack from every corner. She moved so fast that Ahnger was mostly blocking than attacking. He was blocking a whole lot more than the times where he fought Mehrcy.

As they fought, Mehrcy watched. He watched as the human attacked his son. Victoria's dilated eyes showed the predator she was. It wouldn't be long before she grew tired to playing with Ahnger and flat out kill him. Then she would gain the darkness from Ahnger and add it to the one she already possessed.

Leaving the sheath in its place and pulling out his sword, Mehrcy caught a glimpse of his black sword and drew it up. This was his duty and no one would do it for him. Mehrcy was the only one who could kill his son. Victoria didn't have the right.

But when Mehrcy was about to join them, Victoria kicked Ahnger who slid across the alley and came at Mehrcy. He didn't know how to react to her change in opponents. However, she was coming in low and fast. His first instinct was to block. But when he did, Victoria used one blade to connect with the block, clutched the hilt of the blade and kicked him in the face with both of her feet. Still holding onto the hilt, she dragged the blade from under her and spun in the air in a tight circle. Victoria then used both blades and shoved one blade in Mehrcy's leg and the other in the shoulder.

To finish her attack, Victoria landed on one foot and did a spinning-hill kick which sent Mehrcy falling to his side. She then did a backflip and faced off with Ahnger without her blades. Ahnger probably thought he had the upper hand since she was weaponless. He even lowered his guard like she wasn't a threat.

"You're going to fight me without a weapon?" he joked.

Victoria answered by laughing. She showed off her teeth as she laughed. They were so sharp they looked like they could cut through anything. When she stopped laughing, she made a daunting sound. As it grew louder, the more it resembled a wolf's growl.

"You've been here a while, right? Well, by any chance did you hear about the _lessers _found dead? I know the Brotherhood and your father found them. It looked like a wild animal slaughtered them. You know, the whole throat and insides on the outside story. Well, I had lots of fun playing with them. Especially when I ripped their throats out with my bare teeth and shredded them to pieces with my claws."

She licked her teeth and flexed her fingers. As the snow collected over her body, Victoria closed her eyes and another deep growl radiated from her body. She then drew back her lips and a growl exactly like a wolf's rolled off her tongue and she opened her eyes.

They were completely black.

Breaking out in a sprint, Victoria ran right up to Ahnger. Unlike the time where he blocked her attack, she came at him so fast that she was under him the moment he moved his blades. Flexing one hand, Victoria drew up her hand and dug her claws clean across Ahnger's chest. Starting from his stomach going all the way up to his left shoulder, blood squirted out of the new wounds and flew all over the two. Blinking back the blood from her eyes, Victoria brought her other hand up when Ahnger fell back. He didn't move fast enough. Her claws caught him in the arm and he fell backwards while clutching his arm. Blood was pouring out of his wounds and the bone in his arm was nearly visible. Her claws had cut in so deep she would've hit his bones.

Victoria waited.

She stood in her spot as if expecting Ahnger to get back up. When he didn't, she walked up to him and kicked him in the chest. Her kick was strong enough to move him across the ground. She was about to kick him again when he caught her leg and threw her backwards. Landing on her feet, Ahnger struggled to stand. His eyes were wide from disbelief and pure anger. He was being beaten by a human with the same thing inside her. One would think they would be evenly matched. But it seemed that Victoria was way out of his class.

Another growl came from her. As she growled, Mehrcy gripped both of her blades and jerked them out. The wounds weren't too deep or serious. They had been meant to keep him down. He stumbled once before leaning against one of the shops for support. Holding his sword in hand, he focused on Victoria. Her attention was towards his son. She didn't look over once to see if the male was standing.

He was about to make a move when her head tilted to the side. Tilting it to the other side like she was trying to hear something, she raised her head up in the airs and sniffed. Mehrcy was sure she could smell him. If she knew he was going to make a move, he had to do it now.

Instead, Victoria sidestepped the moment an arrow came whizzing out of the dark night. She moved enough for the arrow to miss her head by an inch and lodge itself in a brick behind her. Once she had moved, Ahnger grabbed his blades and dematerialized.

No one moved.

Both of them stood still for a while. Mehrcy stared at Victoria as she stared at nothing. When she moved, her shoulders sagged and her poster faltered. It seemed she had been fighting with everything she had if she looked like she was going to sway off her feet. Her fangs and claws stayed but her eyes went back to having large pupils. When she turned around, her strange eyes locked on Mehrcy for a second before pulling out the arrow. She brought it up to her nose and sniffed it. Shaking her head in disappointment, she tightened her hand and crushed it.

As the pieces fell to the ground, Victoria tripped over her feet and stumbled back a few steps. She managed to catch herself but barely. That's when her pupils shrunk back to normal. Her claws detracted to long fingernail before returning to small nails. Her teeth began to dull as her canines shrunk a bit and dulled like the rest. Once her body was adjusted, she looked back at Mehrcy.

He had no other option except ripping his sheath out of the ground with some pebbles falling from the bottom and sheathing his weapon. His wounds no longer bothered him that he could somewhat walk correctly.

Mehrcy started to walk over to a very tired Victoria when she bolted up right and snarled when the Brothers appeared. Her pupils dilated again and her growl deepened. Phride jumped back from the sudden change and Tohrment, Zsadist and Rhage drew their black daggers. Nightmahre brushed past the males and walked up to his father. When it seemed he was about to speak, Mehrcy silence him by shoving his son's sword in his hands.

"Where's Ehnvy?"

"Giving Sam a ride back to the mansion. What's going on?"

Mehrcy looked up at Victoria. She had lowered her lips but her pupils stayed the same. For some reason, Mehrcy got the feeling it wasn't only her looking through those eyes.

"Ahnger," he said.

"And her?" spoke Tohr.

"I saved his ass," Victoria answered. Her eyes returned to normal when she spoke. She held herself even though she looked like she was about to fall over any moment.

Ignoring the males in the alley with her, Victoria calmly walked over to where Mehrcy hand thrown the twin blades and turned her back on them as she picked up her weapons. Reaching for the case she had abandoned, she ripped out the bottom and revealed two sheathes. Strapping both of them to the back of her waist, she sheathed both of the blades and turned her gaze over to the Brothers. Her pupils dilated just a bit for a second.

"I have a feeling I have some explaining to do."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

The ride back to the mansion had been uncomfortable.

Since no one in their right mind trusted Victoria, Tohrment took the wheel behind the Spyder with her in the passenger seat. Mehrcy wasn't badly injured for him to dematerialize. He was one of the people waiting for her when Tohr pulled the Spyder in the garage. Both of them stepped out of the car without saying a word. Tohr was holding Victoria's blades and handed V the car key. Popping the trunk and snatching only her bag, she slammed the trunk and refused to look at the others.

Since she and Mehrcy were a little bloody, Jane decided to take a look at them. She quickly stitched up the wounds Victoria gave him. The rest were nothing but scratches. But when Jane asked for Victoria to sit down, she just grabbed her suitcase and slammed the bathroom door behind her. She slammed it so hard the door itself shook.

Finding a rag and watering it, she cleaned herself of blood. Ahnger had only given her scratches that were barely visible compared to Mehrcy's. Watching the water clean swirl around in the sink, Victoria took a steady breath and looked up at the mirror. She wasn't surprised when her pupils were dilated.

"Happy now?"

In a way, she could see the black wolf nod its head in agreement.

It hadn't been Victoria's idea to help. She was already out of town and on the road when she had smelled Ahnger. Her head told her to keep on driving but her instincts and the darkness told her to turn around. She had been taken aback for a second when she had smelled the male. His scent was heavy and musky, almost like smoke. And the darkness. Victoria could feel it without even seeing the male.

And like the fool she was, she turned around and was going eighty-miles. She just entered Caldwell and found her way to Ahnger when Mehrcy appeared. The two didn't even know she was four blocks away when they started fighting. The darkness reared its head and growled for battle. It jumped around and snapped its jaws from the sight of Mehrcy and started acting up when he was fighting. Victoria felt the darkness yearn to join the battle. And so did she.

Victoria had grabbed the case holding the twin blades passed down in her family and ran after the two. Next thing, she found herself fighting Ahnger. And truthfully, she didn't want to kill him. She wanted to rip him piece by piece. She wanted to hear him scream out as she drove in her blades into him and tore through is flesh with her claws and fangs.

It wasn't just the darkness that wanted to make the male hurt. She wanted him to suffer like no other. If it hadn't been for Mehrcy and the arrow, she would've done just that.

The arrow was interesting. But she would have to think about it another time. The Brothers were waiting to interrogate her. Too bad she wouldn't tell them what they needed to here. It was another way of making sure she reached her goal.

Opening her bag, Victoria tossed the clothes she had been wearing and slipped on a black bra. Reaching for a black neckline cut blouse with lace on the back and matching it with a pair of faded jeans, she changed and stuffed her other clothes in the bad. Running her fingers through her hair, she slapped herself on the cheeks and looked at her eyes. They dilated back to normal. The darkness would watch but would be discrete. The vampires would be nervous if they saw her eyes acting weird.

Tossing the bag over her shoulder, she entered the room to see Mehrcy gone. Jane was writing something down on a clipboard when she looked up. Victoria quirked her eyebrow and tossed her bag on a nearby chair.

"The Brothers are waiting for you in the study," spoke Jane. "Vishous will take you there."

"What? No handcuffs?"

Jane's hands tightened around the clipboard out of impulse. "You do know you're in serious shit, right?"

"Been in worse," Victoria remarked.

Leaving her shoes and flexing her toes, Victoria crossed the room and opened the door. The male was waiting for her. His diamond gaze focused right on her. If it was someone else, the gaze would've scared the crap out of them. Victoria found it kind of cute. Crossing her arms behind her head, she turned on her heel and started walking with the male ushering her from behind.

The walk had been painfully quiet. It had been so quiet that the darkness inside Victoria felt like it was pacing. She had to scold it to calm down. It stopped for a second and then started pacing again. Since there was nothing for Victoria to do about the pacing, she looked up when they left the tunnels and ended in the mansion. The place was pretty fancy looking and had money in the air. Perhaps more money than she had.

Her shoulders tensed when she felt V get too close. The darkness snapped its jaws and growled from the sudden intrusion. This time, in her mind, Victoria bared her teeth to show who was the one in control and the darkness backed off a bit.

"My oh my."

The voice came from above.

Victoria tilted her head up to see who had spoken. V stopped as well and groaned something she didn't catch. Standing in the middle of the stairs was a guy with a wicked hairdo going on. It was long and had black strips mixed in with the blond and had so many piercings it could set off a metal detector.

The darkness wasn't the only one to go on the defense. Victoria had taken one whiff of the guy and went rigged. She caught his scent but couldn't smell anything. The scent was so weak that she missed him while walking.

"I think I'll come to the meeting," called Lassiter.

"Don't bother, angel," growled V.

"Come on. It's clear this girly has the darkness inside her. And oh man is it active." Lassiter hopped down the last step. Victoria backed up not because of his presence but because he was smiling at her. Even the darkness found it creepy. "And the way how it swirls around her, man. It's like it's alive."

Since the darkness was wary, Victoria told it to cool it. The only reassurance she could give it was that the guy had to be with the Brothers. It was the only solution she could come up with. Luckily, it listened to her and calmed down a bit. In her mind, she could see the black wolf lower its head with its ears still perked up and kept its gaze on him.

"Fine," V said.

Lassiter stuffed his fists in his pockets and strolled over to the double doors. V went back to ushering her that she held up her hands to show she was moving. Once they were at the doors, Lassiter opened them and disappeared somewhere. Victoria swallowed a lump in her throat. The darkness somewhat did the same thing. It was the first time it decided to let her take the lead. The thought wasn't comforting.

Sitting behind the desk was Wrath with Tohrment standing by his side. Not far from the desk was Mehrcy. Their eyes locked on one another before she looked around. Everyone she recognized from the time she performed at The Pack. A giggle escaped her lips when she saw Sam glaring daggers at him. He must've heard her because his face blew up red.

Looking around, she saw the Mehrcy's boys mixed with the Brothers. The one named Nightmahre stood next to his father. Sohrrow stood leaned against a pillar and Ehnvy and Phride stood next to a window showing the night sky. Victoria didn't pay attention to the other vampires in the room.

Since the air felt a little thick, Victoria looked over at Sam. The darkness warned her not to do it but she felt like kicking the hornet's nest. Smiling her cocky smile, she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Don't deny it. You probably loved it."

"Why you—"

"Enough, Sam," called Wrath.

Victoria blew a kiss at Sam. The darkness shook its head in disappointment. Forgetting about him, Victoria looked over to Wrath. "And I don't think this talk has anything to do with you, mon roi."

"I don't get where you think you're in control of this situation. As you can see, you're completely surrounded and unharmed. So I believe we'll be asking the questions and you'll answer them."

"Demandez tout ce que vous voulez, mais vous n'obtiendrez pas de la merde."

"Que diriez-vous nous cessons de jouer et de vous répondre à nos questions? Le plus tôt vous le faites, le plus tôt nous aurons fini pour la journée."

Victoria turned around to face V. He wasn't glaring at her but his eyes showed he was annoyed for her resistance. Her smile grew wider. "Très bien. Je vais jouer votre petit jeu. Mais je veux une bouteille de vodka quand ce sera fini."

"Can we please switch over to English people?" moaned Rhage. Some of the Brothers moaned in agreement. They were all tired from the stress Victoria created for them and they just wanted to get the meeting over with.

"Three questions. You get three questions and I give you three answers," she stated.

Wrath pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Placing his elbows on his desk and resting his chin on his knuckles, he leaned forward in a tired position.

"How long have you known about us?" he asked.

Victoria looked up to think for a second. "Give or take ten years. But it's not like your little war with the _lessers _has anything to do with me. I've stayed out of your way for a long time."

It looked like Wrath wanted to ask about something and Victoria was sure it was the night she hunted. She decided to give him a boon and answered his thoughts. "The only reason why I killed those _lessers _was because I was too on edge and they were close. That's the only time I've killed them. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"And the edge. It sounds like you have something inside you. By any chance does it have to do with Mehrcy and Ahnger?"

Grunting a laugh for a second, Victoria looked over at Sohrrow. The guy looked pissed and ready to rip her head off any second. She could literally smell the anger come from him. But when she looked back at Mehrcy, there was something else coming from him. He wasn't angry or anything. From the way he was looking at her, he just wanted answers.

Some she could give him. Some she couldn't.

"About that, that's a pretty long story but I'll give you the summary." She kept her eyes on Mehrcy as she spoke. "Some centuries ago, Rihgor killed a man. His wife then killed Rihgor in the process. Since then, the Bishop women have lived with the darkness ever since. Call it an inheritance. My mom had it. My grandmother had it. Now I have it."

"And how—"

"How do you have control," interrupted Mehrcy.

Wrath tilted his head over to the male. Some of the Brothers looked at him when he interrupted the king. However, Victoria didn't see any disrespect in it. This was, after all, his twin's darkness inside her. He would want some answers."

"Unlike my family, the darkness and I have a common interest."

"Darkness doesn't care. It doesn't care for anything. The only thing it lives for is to kill and spread its madness. That's all."

Victoria didn't mean to do it. She didn't even think about doing it. But once Mehrcy finished, the darkness raised its head and bared its fangs and so did she. She and the darkness felt the comment aimed towards the both of them that she reacted. Drawing back her lips and having her teeth sharpen, her nails grew out to claws and her eyes dilated. She growled a menacing growl at Mehrcy.

The others reacted except for Mehrcy. He had gotten a front row seat to watch what she could do. Her change didn't faze him once. But it wasn't like she was trying to scare him. He just pissed her off.

"Don't give me the whole darkness-doesn't-care bullshit. The weak are easily swallowed up by it. The strong become addicts until it's the darkness in control. Your brother thought he was stronger than it and that was his downfall. He thought he could control something that was never meant to be controlled. The same goes for your son. He thought just like his uncle and is now an addict on the power it gives him. It's only a matter of time before he goes mad and needs to be put down."

"And you're saying your different?" he challenged. There was a hint of anger in his voice. It had to be when she spoke of Rihgor.

"Yeah. I didn't give a damn about it and ignored it for half my life," she remarked.

A whistle came from the sideline followed up by a few claps. From the corner of her vision, Victoria saw Lassiter lazing around on a couch with his feet propped up on a table. He continued to clap his hands.

"Damn! I've been alive for so long and have never seen darkness go to bat with its host."

A flicker of surprise ran over Mehrcy when the angel spoke. Some curious looks eyed Victoria. But when she was about to disagree, something in the air changed. She closed her eyes and went back to normal. When she opened them, she placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

"Aw, crap."

Right when the words left her lips, a flash of light appeared in the middle of the room. When it vanished, the Scribe Virgin stood in the light's spot.

* * *

Everyone was taken aback when the goddess appeared. Everyone except Victoria. She cocked her eyebrow and pouted her lips. When Wrath was about to say something, the Scribe Virgin held up her hand and he went silent.

"Leaven us. Now."

"Seriously?" The question came from Victoria. All the brothers, including Lassiter, looked at her like she had a death wish. She probably didn't see them or was simply ignoring them since she continued. "We were having a lovely chat and you come in and ruin everything. Seriously, Analisse? Don't you have something better to do than butting into people's business?"

The Scribe Virgin repeated herself.

"Leave us. Now."

No one waited. All biding their welcomes to their goddess, the Brothers left with Sam and Lassiter right behind them. They all had to pass Victoria to get to the doors. They casted wary looks at her as she watched the goddess with a lazy look.

Mehrcy stopped for a second and looked down at her. He then left and closed the door behind him. He wasn't the only one who started whispering. Victoria had just talked to the Scribe Virgin like she was some human. She even called her by her real name. If the Scribe Virgin didn't kill her it would be a miracle.

Since the only one who wasn't whispering was Lassiter, Mehrcy had a question for him. Walking over to the angel, Lassiter turned towards Mehrcy when he walked up. He held up his hand for him to give the guy a second. Rolling his neck around and hearing it pop a couple of times, he waved for him to speak.

"What did you mean back there?"

"About the darkness and host thing? Oh, that was crazy. When you said the darkness wasn't good for anything but killing and spreading madness, you hit a nerve. You hit both the darkness inside Victoria and the human herself." Lassiter leaned forward so Mehrcy would be the only one to hear. "And what's interesting was when Victoria started to go all claw and fangs, the darkness took the form of a black wolf."

Mehrcy went silent.

He was about to ask something when a shout came from inside the study.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

There was a crashing sound and glass shattering everywhere. All the Brothers eyed the doors suspiciously. Since Qhuinn was the closest one, he inched back a few spaces when they flew open and Victoria stormed out. Her eyes were black this time and her hair looked like it was conducting electricity.

She stomped past the others without a second glace. But when she reached the front doors leading outside, she whirled around and shouted, "And you can go to hell for all I care!" Her head snapped over to the Brothers. "Piss off!" she yelled. Then she walked outside and slammed the doors right behind her. The chandelier shook as if threatening to fall down.

Standing in the same spot was the Scribe Virgin.

As if she was tired, she shook her head and her veil swayed along to her movement. To her left was where all the drinks had been on. Now the desk was split in half and broken glass littered the floor with spilled alcohol. That must've been what they heard break.

"Mehrcy, I must speak to you alone."

Mehrcy didn't wait. He kept his composure and closed the doors behind him as he entered the study. Once they were alone, he went to one knee and bowed his head.

"I understand you have been waiting for this moment for a very long time."

"Yes, milady."

"I will permit you to ask a question. Do not waste it."

Mehrcy swallowed. "Dearest Scribe Virgin, why did you refuse me when I came to you for help?"

He was surprised when he heard the goddess release a sigh of frustration. "That night, Adrianna Bishop killed Rihgor. The darkness you were supposed to take found its way inside her and would've caused her to kill herself when I took most of it. The darkness was too strong for a human to contain that I left them with only a fraction of its power. It was there I gave the Bishop women the duty in returning the darkness to you. I could not intervene for it had to be them who found you.

"For years they searched for you until they finally gave up. It's been close to two centuries since they were given this burden. I thought they would never find you. Then Victoria ignored her duties not once but on many occasions."

"So it is the line of Bishop who has to return the darkness to me. If I had received it long ago, my sons would've been spared."

"A question disguised as a sentence. Nicely done. And yes. But they could not find you and they gave up. And I know what you have thought about for so long. If you had killed your son, nothing would've changed. The curse would continue unless Sohrrow kills Ahnger."

"But Rihgor?" Mehrcy quickly bit down on his tongue.

"Yes the curse had been disrupted. But you can still obtain the darkness just like your father. However, your sons have been born in the now. Sohrrow is the only one who can end it if he wishes to." The Scribe Virgin paused. "You need to convince Victoria to give you Rihgor's darkness or she will regret it."

"Milady?"

"I was a fool to say it was the Bishop women who give you the darkness. It is only their words that will give you your brother's darkness, not mine. For years, Victoria has been stubborn. She refuses to give it up no matter what. But if she does not give it to you by the next full moon, I will release the amount I have contained. That much would drive a human insane until being forced to take their own life."

"Milady, she has control."

"Control over the fraction she has. She will never have control over the entire thing. It will turn on her in a heartbeat and destroy her from the inside. She had a chance to give you the darkness nine years ago and refused. Only a few days did she have the opportunity to do so and still she refused. Last night and this night is the last straw. She will either give you the darkness or she will suffer."

The Scribe Virgin was engulfed in light and vanished.

Mehrcy stayed on his knee.

Nine years ago. Mehrcy had been in New Orleans nine years ago. And the girl in the mask. It had been Victoria who he had run into. He had met her all those years ago and only realized it. The memory that had been plaguing him ever since was now complete only to be replaced by the goddess's words.

The full moon wouldn't come until three weeks. He had to get Victoria to give him Rihgor's darkness or the Scribe Virgin would do as she said. She would release the darkness she had kept and Victoria would suffer. Deep down inside, Mehrcy didn't want to see her in pain or kill herself. He had to think of something before the third week or Victoria wouldn't be the only one hurting.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

The shutters had already closed over the windows and Victoria hadn't returned. Mehrcy told the Brothers what the Scribe Virgin had told him and they all agreed to let him handle the situation. However, after searching for the human during the cold night, he found nothing to tell him where she went. Not even a single footprint. It was almost like she disappeared.

Hearing the shutters close and lock, Mehrcy raked his hand through his hair. He had taken it out of his ponytail a while ago and black strands hung over his shoulders. Pushing those stray strands behind his shoulders, he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. His mind kept racing over the fact that he could've ended this whole charade nine years ago. But the Scribe Virgin had stayed silent and not once told Mehrcy who possessed his brother's darkness. How could he have missed any sign of darkness in New Orleans? Sensing darkness was how he had tracked his son all those years. If he could track his son's darkness, how could he have missed Rihgor's?

There were so many questions and the only person who could answer him was missing. Victoria was holding back information. Mehrcy didn't know how he knew but he could feel it. When she had spoken to the Brotherhood, he could feel her carefully choosing her words and using her remarks to hide the truth. Victoria seemed to have trained herself to tell lies and it seemed she had trained years to perfect it. Mehrcy didn't know if she knew how to tell the truth anymore.

And it was the way how he felt she was lying. He could literally feel her lying. And when he had spoken about the darkness, she reacted so violently that he was sure she would've attacked him. Mehrcy was didn't show it, but he was shocked that she would defend the darkness inside her. Her words spoke volumes. In a way, it almost sounded like he had offended her and not just the darkness.

Mehrcy didn't know what to believe in. All he knew was that he had to get Victoria to agree to give him his brother's darkness before the three weeks were up. He didn't know much about her but got the feeling she would rather go to the grave than give it to him.

Having nothing better to do, Mehrcy got up from the chair and started walking over to the stairs when he heard something come from the kitchen. The sound was so light one might've not heard it. But Mehrcy did and he knew no one was in the kitchen. Changing his course, he stealthy walked over to the kitchen. Leaning against the wall when the entrance came to view, he peeked inside and sighed.

Coming out from his spot, Mehrcy walked in to see Victoria sleeping on a stool over the island. Her head was resting on one arm while the other one was resting straight out towards the empty vodka bottle. Mehrcy noticed her clothes were soaking wet and there was a tiny puddle at the bottom of the stool. When he looked down, he saw her feet were bright red as if she had been running. The water had to be from melted snow when she came inside. But Mehrcy or the others never heard her enter the mansion. She must've been inside long enough to finish the bottle and go to sleep. Another secret he wanted to know.

When Mehrcy took a step forward, Victoria's ears twitched. Then her eyes opened to a slant and Mehrcy stopped. Under her lashes and wet bangs were black eyes. Mehrcy got the feeling it wasn't Victoria looking at him. In fact, he could feel it wasn't her. It was the darkness inside her watching him.

Mehrcy stood still and stared back into those eyes. They watched him with little curiosity. Pulling her arm under her chin, the darkness watched Mehrcy before turning its gave over to the windows. The shutters were in place but the darkness looked at it anyways. Then it looked back at him and his chest ached. The look in its eyes told Mehrcy Victoria wasn't the only one suffering. He had been completely wrong about darkness only knowing how to kill and pass on madness.

The darkness was suffering as well. Mehrcy could see in its black gaze emotions he didn't know darkness could interpret. The darkness was in pain and it was tired. In a way, Mehrcy thought the darkness wanted everything to be over.

Looking at him one last time, the darkness closed its eyes. When they opened again, they were dark blue.

* * *

Victoria watched the water ripple. With her legs pulled tight to her chest, she rested her chin on top her knees and watched the murky water. She was back in the bayou. She had been in there ever since the talk with Analisse. Victoria thought she had her fair share of Analisse. But the goddess took it to another level. She threatened Victoria that if she didn't give Mehrcy Rihgor's darkness she would release all of it onto her. Analisse thought she would only be hurting Victoria with the threat. She was so wrong.

Unable to stay in the mansion any longer, once Victoria stepped outside, she took off running. She ran and ran to the point where it was no longer her running. Hiding away in the world the darkness lived in, Victoria allowed the darkness to take over her body and run as long as it wanted. It had been so long since the darkness took control and this was the only time she was allowing it. Besides, the darkness needed its own outlet.

For what felt like hours, Victoria finally stood up and stared down at the water. For some strange reason, she saw herself when she was fifteen. Back then, that was when the darkness fully awakened inside of her. And that was a day she truly wished to forget.

A gust of wind blew across the trees. Blowing across the water, ripples formed and broke upon contact. Walking over the water was a dark figure. As it grew closer, it began to take form into a black wolf. Walking on top of the water, the wolf stopped in front of Victoria. It then lowered its head under her hand and whined. Feeling its need for touch, Victoria rubbed her fingers through its black fur.

Mehrcy was wrong if he though darkness didn't feel anything.

Closing her eyes and opening them, Victoria found herself looking right at Mehrcy. He watched her with curious eyes. It then occurred to Victoria he might've seen the darkness when it was still in control of her. The black eyes must've scared him a bit.

Victoria leaned back and rolled her shoulders. A quick stab of pain hit her head. That's when she caught sight of the vodka bottle. It seemed the darkness beat her to it.

"I'm guessing you saw it," she yawned.

Mehrcy was hesitant at first. He then cleared his throat before speaking. "That wasn't you just a second ago. It was the darkness."

"Whoa. You catch on pretty fast."

"It was in control of your body. It had total control over you and yet it went away."

"Didn't you hear what I told you earlier? We have a common interest. Besides, this wasn't the first time I allowed it to run around. I needed some time to think and it needed a good run. We simply made a trade for a while."

"But how—"

"Look." Victoria stood up from the stool and wobbled a bit. Clutching the island and taking a deep breath for a second, she brushed back her hair and looked over at Mehrcy. "I'm pretty sure Analisse told you the same bullshit she told me. Well, I'm not giving you the darkness."

"Why not?"

Victoria shrugged.

"Maybe I like it. And besides, you may think you can handle it but you can't. I mean, look at your father for example. Lhight killed Dhark too late and look at the life it gave you. You had a father that barely felt anything. Then your brother went mad and the darkness turned him into a raging beast. Now your son is on his way towards the same path. Can't you see? Your father loved his brother and couldn't bear killing him even though he knew the outcome of the curse. You loved your brother the same and couldn't find him until he was already dead. And now you think you can kill Ahnger. Face it, Mehrcy. You love your sons. The only reason why Ahnger is still alive is because you can't deliver the final blow. Because of you, he has grown stronger and closer to falling into complete darkness. You are weak when you think you are strong."

Mehrcy made a move towards her. Victoria reacted by baring her teeth. Even though her teeth stayed the same and her claws didn't come out, she sometimes reacted the way a wolf could. Baring her teeth were one of the few habits she had picked up over the years.

But when she bared her teeth, her eyes widened in fascination. It was clear Mehrcy didn't know he was doing it. The moment Mehrcy stopped his approach, he drew back his lips and bared his own teeth, especially his fangs. For a second, his pupils dilated just a bit that one wouldn't have noticed. His lips lowered as well without him realizing it.

It seemed Mehrcy had his own secret without him knowing it. Victoria could feel a weak presence inside him. She didn't have to be told twice it was the light inside him. Light couldn't live without darkness and darkness couldn't live without light. That's why she had gotten the tattoo of Sköll and Hati inked on her back. The brothers were a symbol of light and darkness in a never-ending chase. They both had to live for the other one to do so. If one had died, the other would soon follow.

Even though it was weak, Victoria felt the light inside Mehrcy stir. Unlike the darkness inside her which was old, the light inside Mehrcy was still young. In her mind, it was still a pup not knowing it was in a big world. The only reason why it reacted was because Victoria did. The darkness inside her felt Mehrcy make a move towards her and growled. The last time it did, nothing happened. But this time, the light reacted to the darkness and so did Mehrcy.

Since he didn't know he just bared his own teeth at her, Victoria decided to keep it to herself. She would later see how much further she could push the male until the light inside him finally fought back.

"You don't know anything about my father," he growled.

"Yes I do. The darkness inside of me was the same one in Rihgor and part of his darkness once belonged to Dhark. I know about your family more than you do."

Mehrcy shook his head in denial. When he looked away, Victoria scooped up the vodka bottle and threw it away. The buzz in her head was long gone where it didn't feel like the drink did anything for her. The only thing she was yearning for was sleep and she had a feeling she would be sleeping on the couch. And if the couch was off limits to her, she would sleep in her car.

Figuring their talk was over, Victoria tried to walk around Mehrcy when he grabbed her wrist. It wasn't a tight grab. It was one to let her know to stop. Standing side-by-side, Victoria could feel the warmth under Mehrcy's touch. She quickly jerked her wrist and tightened her hand over it. Luckily, Mehrcy wasn't looking at her. If he was, he would see her entire arm shake.

"You know I'm not going to stop, right?"

"I get the feeling you won't no matter how many times I say no."

This time he looked at her. "Fine. If you're so confident, how about a wager?"

"A wager."

"If I beat you at something, you give the darkness to me and all of this will be over. And if you win, you can keep the darkness and I won't bother you anymore. Sound like a sound deal?"

Victoria thought about it for a second. She wasn't the only one thinking about it. The darkness had listened in on the offer. In her mind, Victoria could see that black tail of its swish around in excitement. There was no point in ignoring the offer.

"Deal."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The two didn't want to waste time on their wager. Right when Victoria said deal, the two took off to the gym. Words didn't have to be said that the wager would be a fight. Both of them knew a fight would be the only thing to determine their fate. It was a miracle they didn't take off running. When they entered the gym, they both of them went in separate locker rooms to change and reappeared. Mehrcy had switched into sweats and had his hair in a tight ponytail and Victoria changed into a sports bra and black yoga pants.

Before walking over to the mats, Mehrcy picked up a wooden sword and flipped it around for a second. Victoria did the same thing by finding two smaller wooden swords the same size. She flipped them in her hands for a few seconds and nodded after testing their weight. Once the two were satisfied with their choices, they took their spots on the opposite sides of the mat. Mehrcy placed his sword by his hip and drew it like he was drawing it from its sheath. Victoria held both of the swords together in front of her before separating them and taking her stance. Bringing the sword up and taking his position, Mehrcy locked eyes with Victoria.

He moved to the side. As he circled around, Victoria followed him around. When he stopped, so did she. They both stood in their positions, waiting for one to make a move.

"I paid good money to watch this fight."

Mehrcy and Victoria nearly dropped their swords. After catching them, they both looked over to see Lassiter sprawled on the bleachers. He grinned and waved over at the two. He then jabbed his thumb over to the door leading to the hallway.

"And how about we wait. I couldn't keep my mouth shut and told the others. They said to hold up. Sounds like everyone wants to see this fight."

"You did what?" shouted Mehrcy.

"Oh, bite me."

"With pleasure," snapped Victoria.

Lassiter's grin widened when the doors opened and the Brotherhood poured in with their _shellans_. Victoria was the one who lowered her swords and had her mouth hanging wide open. Mehrcy's eyes widened and his sword faltered. Once everyone was inside, Lassiter waved his hand for the fight to continue.

When none of them moved, Wrath spoke. "I said you could handle this on your own. I didn't say anything about us watching you two beat the shit out of each other. Now I order the both of you to continue."

Mehrcy failed to react to the kings words. Victoria, however, snapped into action.

Before the male had time to even look over at her, she leaned forward and dashed across the mat. Even though Mehrcy brought up his wooden sword, Victoria used his weapon to giver herself a push up in the air. Spinning around in an arc, her foot made a solid connection across his face and sent the male flying to the ground.

Everyone started cheering on the sidelines.

Ignoring them and landing on her feet, Victoria was about to strike when Mehrcy tangled his feet around her legs and rolled. Keeping a secure hold on the swords, she fell along with the spin and landed on her knuckles. Quickly untangling her legs, Victoria used the momentum and flipped over Mehrcy attempt to hitting her arms. Doing a couple more flips, she stopped on one and did a back flip. Mehrcy was already up on his feet and blocked her attack. Landing on top of his sword, Victoria finished her flips by landing on his sword and flipping in the air.

Landing behind him, she flipped one sword in her hand and struck it against Mehrcy's back. If it had been a real sword, the attack would've done plenty to the opponent. But since they were using wooden swords, it would leave a huge bruise.

Victoria accidently left her guard open because Mehrcy did a back-kick and kicked her right in the stomach. Falling forward and gagging, Victoria didn't have time to recover when Mehrcy kicked her up and swung his sword across her side. Again, if the swords had been real, he would've sliced right through her. Instead, Victoria felt her ribs take the full blunt and swore one of them cracked.

Falling to the ground, she rolled up to her feet and ran back at Mehrcy. This time she ran in sidesteps in an attempt to trick Mehrcy. His eyes flickered left and right in order to keep up with her. When he saw her coming at the right, he was about to attack on the right when Victoria stayed on her left and went after his opening.

With her swords at the ready, Victoria blocked Mehrcy attack with one and returned the favor by striking his stomach. Not quite finished with her move, Victoria spun on her heel and brought her other sword down on Mehrcy's back. Before falling, Mehrcy kicked out his leg to stop his fall and brought his sword up. Seeing his attack coming, Victoria brought her swords together to block his attack.

Jumping back a few feet, she took a steady breath and held one sword in front of her with the other one drawn back behind her. Mehrcy stood up and kept his sword low to his side. Just like before, they stood still and waited for the other to make a move. The room was quiet for the others waited to see what happened. As they stood still, Mehrcy's eyes flinched when he saw Victoria's pupils dilate. They didn't turn black like the time when she fought Ahnger and her teeth and nails stayed the same. The only thing that changed were her eyes.

Before Victoria had the chance in attacking, Mehrcy took the offensive. Instead of attacking any sides, the male charged right at the center. Drawing his sword above his head, he brought it down the same time Victoria drew her swords to block. When the swords connected, Victoria grunted and went down to one knee. Twisting the sword in his grasp, Mehrcy knocked both of the wooden swords out of Victoria's hold and heard them clatter off the mat. Acting quickly, Victoria grabbed Mehrcy's sword and jumped back up to her feet. Right when they started to wrestle over the sword, Mehrcy flipped Victoria over him. But she didn't let go and he was flipped over as well, losing his sword.

Hearing it slide off the mat, the both of them jump up in fighting positions. Mehrcy brings his hands up and spreads his legs. Victoria stays hunched over with her arms drawn up behind her hand keeps her legs wide. Unable to determine her stance, Mehrcy takes too long trying to analyze it he barely hears a laugh.

The laugh came from Victoria.

Taking a closer look, Mehrcy saw her smiling. It wasn't a taunting smile. It was one out of sheer pleasure. Victoria was smiling because she was having fun fighting the male. Her eyes must've changed out of the excitement and nothing else. Mehrcy didn't know if that was good for him or meant he was in trouble.

Not willing to find out, he went for a floor sweep. Victoria jumped in the air with her legs pulled tight to her chest. Using his palm as a center, Mehrcy spun around and brought his kick up in an arc. Still in midair, Victoria brought her arms up to block his kick. But once he made contact, Mehrcy quickly rotated around and another kick came from the other side. Victoria was unable to block the attack and took it in the face. Rolling across the mat, she rolled back to her feet and lunged herself at the male, releasing a powerful yell.

Seeing her coming straight for him, Mehrcy attempted to do another sweep at her legs when Victoria jumped clean over him right when he went down and did a perfect tumble over to her wooden swords. Leaning and snatching them, she did another of her backflips and landed in front of Mehrcy. Since he wasn't armed, the male used his arms to block her attack and threw in his own punches and kicks.

The two moved so fast that their attacks were close to a blur. They moved in a perfect circle and placed their footing in the spot where the other stepped from to keep their balance. Circling and attacking almost like dancers performing, Mehrcy and Victoria barely showed the other their back unless they had a move to throw seconds later. Their bodies were starting to show signs of bruising that it was a miracle any part of them wasn't.

Sliding back for a second, Mehrcy threw a solid roundhouse kick that Victoria blocked but could barely absorb the impact and slid to the side. Watching her slide, the male quickly turned around and kicked up the wooden sword and caught it. Spinning around, he blocked Victoria's attack and maneuvered around to block her second attack. Now that the both of them were armed, Victoria jumped back and ran around Mehrcy before striking. He blocked the attack only to see her running back around and going for another strike. Barely able to keep up, Mehrcy not only blocked her next attack but flipped the sword around and struck Victoria's wrist. She was forced to drop it and tried to jump away when Mehrcy elbowed her in the chest and pushed her back long enough to bring his sword down. He missed her head by an inch and struck her shoulder instead.

Staggering back, Victoria clutched her shoulder and glared at Mehrcy. The male kept his sword up, ready for another attack. Clenching her empty hand, she thought of what to do. Mehrcy probably figured the reason why she circled him was because she was fast and tried to dizzy her opponent. His blocks and attacks showed he figured out her strategy. There was a possibility she wouldn't be able to do her running around for much longer. Besides that, she didn't know if she could move much longer. Her body was starting to register her wounds and the pain was growing by the second. She was sure Mehrcy was getting tired. He kept a steady breath but his body shook from exhaustion.

The both of them had been going at each other with everything and they were still standing. If they kept up the fight, they would both collapse out of exhaustion. But if they had used real weapons, they were both being dead and forget about being exhausted.

Something nudged at the back of Victoria's mind. It seemed the darkness had an idea and wanted to share it with her. Grunting and moving to the left when Mehrcy moved right, she listened. When the darkness told her its idea, Victoria quirked her eyebrow. She then silently agreed with the darkness.

That move would totally end the fight.

Bring the fight to a close, Victoria dashed at Mehrcy and watched him anticipate her next move. But instead of running to the side, Victoria threw out her feet and rotated around. Bring one sword with her, she spun around and threw the sword. Mehrcy blocked it just like the darkness predicted he would. Taking the momentum, Victoria finished her spin and closed gab between the two. Right when Mehrcy brought down his sword, Victoria jumped in front of him and landed right on his shoulders.

Taken back, Mehrcy looked up at Victoria with surprised eyes. He was caught off guard that he didn't feel her wrap her legs around his neck. When he did, Victoria leaned backwards and fell down. Before Mehrcy went all the way down with her, Victoria arched over and went between his legs, making him flip upside down.

Mehrcy fell hard on his back and the air was knocked out of him. Trying to catch his breath and wrapping his arms around her legs, Victoria leaned up and was sitting on his shoulders with the wooden sword pointed right at his throat.

There was no sound except for their hard breathing.

The room was filled with claps seconds later.

Pulling the sword from Mehrcy's throat, Victoria tossed the sword while keeping her eyes on the male. He was looking back at her with wonder. The move hadn't been planned and Victoria hadn't tried it before. It had been the darkness who guided her through the whole thing. If she had messed up, the both of them would've fallen on top of each other. Victoria chuckled at her success.

She felt a tap on the inside of her thigh. Victoria was still on top of Mehrcy.

"I know no other man would argue about this," he breathed. He tapped her thigh again. She got the hint.

Unwrapping her legs, Victoria rolled off of Mehrcy. Leaning up and craning his neck, the male looked at her for a second before shaking his head. He had lost the wager and the darkness. It was Victoria's now and there was nothing he could do about it except wait for the Scribe Virgin to come. Until then, all he could do was wait to see what happened.

Finding his way up to his feet, Mehrcy caught a glimpse of the other making their way over to the mat when the word went upside down and found himself staring at the ceiling. A sharp pain came from his legs and came to the conclusion someone had kicked them out. Mehrcy tossed his head over to see Victoria standing. She gave him a bright smile with a thumbs up. Everyone laughed that Mehrcy couldn't help himself either. No matter how battered his body was, he managed a laugh as well.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Rolling around under the covers, Victoria drew them closer when she heard the shutters open. Sealing herself under the warmth of the covers, she curled into a tight ball and went back to sleep. She must've gone to sleep for another hour or two when the door opened. Pretending she was still asleep, Victoria stayed in her ball and slightly lifted the covers. Taking a whiff, she released a sigh when it wasn't Mehrcy's scent. However, that meant someone else was in the room she was given.

A toe nudged her.

Grunting out loud and keeping a tight hold on the covers, Victoria rolled on her side and rested with her back towards the person. The toe started nudging her back. A soft growl came from her.

"Nudge me again and I'll bite your toe off," she threatened.

"Then I'll bite you back," spoke the person.

The voice sounded like it belonged to a woman. Victoria was slightly disappointed it wasn't Mehrcy. After their little fight, her sweep knocking him down seemed too easy. Biting him would defiantly get her up. But since it wasn't him, her curiosity was perked.

Rolling back to her side, Victoria drew the covers back for her to poke her head out. There was no need to ask her hair looked like a giant fur ball. She hadn't bothered drying it after her shower. She simply stood under the cold shower, applied some soap and shampoo, slipped in black panties and a black spaghetti top and then hit the bed. Then she couldn't go to sleep because the mattress was on a bedframe. And there were drawers and other furniture in the room. So Victoria had spent most of her waking hour rearranging the room.

Blinking some grogginess from her eyes, Victoria saw Gabrielle standing above her. The woman was wearing some dark jeans and a sweater. Dangling from her neck were her dog tags under her buffalo chocker wrapped around her neck. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail where strands hung freely around her face. Watching Victoria with her dark brown eyes, Gabrielle waited to hear her response.

Victoria drew her covers back over her head and tried to go back to sleep.

"You keep us up half the day with your rummaging and you can't manage a hello?"

"Matin. Au revoir."

Gabrielle nudged her again with her toe. This time Victoria threw the covers down to her waist and snapped her eyes at the Cheyenne woman. Gabrielle placed her hands on her hips with a smug look on her face. She then looked at the newly adjusted room.

The reason why Gabrielle was looking down at Victoria was because she had removed the mattress from the bedframe and had dragged it over to the left side of the room. She then spent most of her day taking apart the bedframe and dumping it in the room across the hall. The room was also holding the drawers, cabinets, wooden desk, sofas and lamp post she managed to squeeze out of the doorway. The only thing still in the room were Victoria's bags resting against the mattress and the huge plasma screen TV that was bolted into the wall.

"Did you have to remove everything?" questioned Gabrielle.

"The room was cramped. So I got rid of a few things."

"A few? The room was empty already before you cleared out everything. And from what I'm looking at, the room almost looks like your penthouse." She held up her hand when Victoria looked like she was about to argue. "During all that moving around, Hohnihohkaiyohos mentioned something about it was going to look bare like your old place."

"Hohni-what?"

"Nightmahre. Mehrcy's oldest son. Hohnihohkaiyohos is what I call him." When Gabrielle paused, she looked around for a moment. Victoria got the hint. Grunting out loud, she rolled over on her stomach and pushed herself up. She also kicked out the chair that matched the wooden desk so there wasn't anything to sit on except for the mattress. And being heavily pregnant as Gabrielle was, standing up too long would probably take its toll on her.

Victoria got up and helped her sit down on the mattress. Once Gabrielle was comfortable, Victoria laid back down and curled her back up against Gabrielle's back.

"What are you doing?"

"Sleeping."

"You do know a dog would do the same thing, right?"

"Habit. Sleep."

To make her point, Victoria opened her mouth and yawned out loud. She then snuggled into a tight ball and tried to get some rest.

"So how long have you liked Mehrcy?"

Victoria's eyes snapped wide open. Jerking her head to look over at Gabrielle, she saw a smile and wiggling eyebrows. Almost flying off the mattress, Victoria jumped up to a sitting position and stared at the woman. She even got close and sniffed her. Gabrielle backed up for a second as Victoria sniffed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure. And I'm pretty sure the reason why you won't give up the darkness is because you like him."

"I don't like him."

"And the moon is made out of cheese."

The darkness was awake. Victoria could feel it pace around inside her, anxious to hear what else the woman had to say. There was also a part of it wishing Gabrielle would stop talking in case she was right and Victoria would give herself away. Then the darkness would go ranting inside her and she would never get any sleep.

Pretending she didn't care where the conversation was going, Victoria flopped forward and extended her body to its limit. Rubbing her head around in the covers, she released a sigh and closed her eyes.

"You're actually going to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about?"

"How can I pretend if I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Fine. I'll go and tell Mehrcy you have a crush on him. I'm sure he'd love to hear what he would have to say."

Bolting straight up, Victoria nearly ran off the mattress to the door when she saw Gabrielle smile in victory. Victoria's face blew up red from embarrassment. The darkness shook its head in disappointment and faded away to be spared any more embarrassment, leaving Victoria to defend herself.

"Don't worry. He doesn't know and I won't tell anyone." Victoria slumped down on the mattress and dropped her head. Exhaustion rolled over her body and she felt it. God she was so damn tired. No longer able to sit up straight, she went back to lying on her stomach. Not wanting to prop her chin up and use force to speak, Victoria rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling.

"I don't like him, okay? I just don't want him to take what my family has suffered with for two centuries. It's my burden, not his. That's why I challenged him. It's my birthright to keep it."

"Then what does that have to do with you mouthing off with the Scribe Virgin? From what I heard, you basically told the goddess to go fuck herself."

"Please. That's putting it in a nice way. Besides, Analisse and I have been doing this dance for so long that I think she's bored and I'm her only source of entertainment. The only reason why she has smote me yet is because of the darkness. She's been trying to get me to follow the family tradition for nine years. I just like seeing her so rattled when I tell her to…what was it you said? Fuck herself?"

Gabrielle sputtered a laugh. Victoria couldn't help herself either. It had been a while since she had a good laugh. Ten long years, actually. Now that she had a reason to, it felt good. Even the darkness came back and reveled in its beauty.

"It almost sounds like you're proud of it."

"Hey, a girl has to have a hobby."

"Is that hobby meant to keep you suffering?"

The darkness didn't react with a glare or growl. Instead, it lowered its head in shame the same way Victoria rolled to her side so she wouldn't have to look Gabrielle in the eye. It had been so long since she thought of her past and couldn't help it. She had been seven when she made up her mind. Victoria decided to break the tradition and defy everything the Bishop women lived for. She had felt the darkness inside her but it didn't stir. Unlike her mother who had felt its presence at the same age, the darkness left Victoria alone and she did the same.

As the years went on, the darkness not once made an attempt to take over. Victoria had been the first Bishop to live in peace until she was fifteen. That day had forced the darkness to awaken and it was the same day it took complete control of her for the first time. Then their eternal battle over one another faded the moment the darkness finished its task. Centuries of Bishop blood spilled would end with Victoria with the darkness by her side.

Analisse was completely clueless. She had been a fool in giving the Bishops the authority in giving the darkness up. She was a bigger fool in thinking Victoria, who showed no signs of going mad, would give it away. Analisse might've caught on when they had their latest meeting. When she had told Victoria of her time limit, the darkness raged inside her so much her eyes changed black all the way and Victoria still had control. The goddess was smart. She would've connected the dots. It was only a matter of time when she got the full map. The darkness would take the full blunt of her attack just like Victoria. The both of them would be in pain the day Analisse released the darkness onto her. Victoria only hoped the both of them were strong just like their words.

"We all must make sacrifices," was all Victoria could say.

Her words cut old wounds. Victoria had made many sacrifices in her short life. She would continue to make them until the day she died. Her lies and goal were the only things keeping her going. If it weren't for them, she would've crumbled under the weight ten years ago. She and the darkness would've fallen to their knees in defeat long ago. But they both wanted the same thing and would see it through.

Gabrielle didn't know how close to home she was about Mehrcy. One of the Bishop duties was to have a child to continue the duty. Somehow, after the confrontation with Rihgor, Adrianna's child was a girl. After her death, Adrianna's daughter had a daughter of her own to carry the darkness. After her, the daughter had another daughter and that was how the line of Bishop were only women. They would sleep with a man, get pregnant and disappear in the wind. Then their child would do the same thing. That's what Victoria's mother did.

That wasn't the life Victoria wanted. She wanted to be happy and have a family. So there was one of her sacrifices. She would give up the lovely dream she had when she was a girl and never go to bed with a man. She couldn't live if she knew her daughter would possess the darkness.

Her other sacrifice was now in her life and Victoria didn't know how long she could stay under the same roof with him.

The main sacrifice she came to terms with years ago was that she could never have Mehrcy. No matter how much she loved him.

* * *

Outside the door, Mehrcy listened in on Gabrielle and Victoria's conversation. He had gone to the room to her when he heard Gabrielle speak. Part of Mehrcy told him to leave and come back while another part told him to stay and listen. He ignored the both of them and was about to knock when Gabrielle spoke.

"So how long have you liked Mehrcy?"

Mehrcy drew back his hand. Something inside him rustled around but he shoved the feeling back. They were talking about him. He had to hear what Victoria would say.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure. And I'm pretty sure the reason why you won't give up the darkness is because you like him."

"I don't like him."

"And the moon is made out of cheese."

She was lying. Standing by the door in the hallway, Mehrcy could feel her lying. It was like the time when she was talking to the Brothers. He could feel her tell the lies that came so easy from her tongue. Mehrcy knew she was lying about liking him. But he wanted to know why she lied.

Mehrcy stayed silent and listened to their conversation. Victoria sounded proud about her defiance towards the Scribe Virgin. Again she spoke the goddess's real name as if she were referring to another person. From what Mehrcy gathered, Victoria knew more about the Scribe Virgin than any living vampire. Victoria was the only one who could speak freely in front of the goddess and received no punishment no matter how far she pressed. The only guarantee of her safety was the darkness that once belonged to Rihgor.

When Gabrielle asked about her suffering, the feeling came back at Mehrcy and it merged with his owns feelings. He didn't know much about the female and knew little when he first met her in New Orleans. All he knew back was that she was a child he forgot over the years. But now that he knew who she was and actually met her, a feeling Mehrcy couldn't describe awakened inside him. It was like the feeling had life of its own and breathing in life for the first time. Oblivion to the world around it, the feeling had one instinct and it was so strong.

"We all must make sacrifices."

Mehrcy felt his chest tighten in pain. Stumbling back, he fell against the wall and clutched his chest. His heart was hurting like never before. The only time he had hurt like that was when Ahva died. Even though she died with a smile on her face and a newborn in her arms, Mehrcy had felt his heart break for his shellan. Ahva's dying wish was for her hellren to find love again. It took a few years for him to heal until he knew he was free to love again. At first, Mehrcy thought nothing in the world could bring him a female he could love.

But hearing Victoria's words were breaking Mehrcy. He could hear such hurt in her voice and a hint of longing. There was something she wanted and it sounded like she could never have it. The thought of her being deprived of happiness pained Mehrcy.

Unclenching his fist, he looked at his hand when his vision blurred. Mehrcy shook his head and when he looked at his hand, he could've sworn he saw his nail extended half an inch before his vision recovered and his hands looked normal. Still leaning against the wall, Mehrcy gulped for air and turned his head to his right. Next to him was a mirror half his size which hung on the wall. When he looked into the mirror, Mehrcy felt something deep down inside him stir. A feeling like never before felt as if it was trying to fight to the surface. Mehrcy didn't understand the feeling but he could feel the emotions behind it.

Feeling nothing but fury and determination, Mehrcy stared into the mirror and knew he wasn't seeing things. In his reflection, Mehrcy's silver eyes darkened just a bit. It was short but he watched as his pupils dilated bigger than usual before going back to normal. Under his breath he could've sworn he heard himself growl. Not a growl someone would make but a wolf would.

Mehrcy looked away and pushed himself from the wall. No longer wanting to be near the room, Mehrcy stalked down the hallway without looking back. As he walked down, the feeling inside him slowly died down. There was no explanation as to what he was feeling except for what Lassiter had said. Remembering the angel's words, he said he had seen the darkness stand by Victoria. If she could have a bond with the darkness, Mehrcy was sure the feeling he had felt was the light awakening inside him.

After so many years of solitude and hunting his own son, the light not once made an appearance like the darkness inside Ahnger and Victoria. The light had stayed dormant to the point where Mehrcy forgot about it long ago. But something had awoken it and it was determined to fight. And not just fight anything. It wanted to fight to protect something important. Even though it was young and Mehrcy was sure he was imagining things, he knew one thing he wanted to do. He wanted to find out more about Victoria and find what pained her so much so he could destroy it and help her heal. The only thing on his mind as he walked away from her door was to find the one thing that would make her happy.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Taking a stroll by the shore, Victoria walked around the murky water of the bayou. Placing one foot in front of the other, she kept her gaze on the water as if it possessed the answers to the world. There were times where she drifted from the solid ground and walked through the water. Without looking up, Victoria walked up a fallen log and down its path until she was walking on ground once again.

In the real world, the darkness was wondering around in her body. The last time Victoria was in control of her body was when she found a way outside. After her talk with Gabrielle, Victoria left her room only wearing jean shorts and a black spaghetti strap top. Old memories invaded her mind that Victoria needed a walk only to find out the darkness was a little too on edge. One would think the fight they went through against Mehrcy the previous night would've helped. Victoria was still bruised and she was sure Mehrcy was as well. Her right hand had a big bruise that it would be a while for her to play the violin. Since she couldn't practice her music, Victoria wanted to go be somewhere to be in peace only to sense Mehrcy was still in the mansion.

Escaping through a window and landing on the snow covered grass, Victoria quickly disappeared back into the bayou and the darkness took off running in her body. Now here she was, walking around the bayou in the night.

"What are you doing?"

Time must've passed because a voice found its way into the world. Still looking at the water, Victoria watched as the water started to lighten until she saw what the darkness was looking at. To her surprise, the darkness had led Victoria to the training room and she found herself standing next to a Mook Yan Jong. She had never used the tool before but it seemed the darkness was beating the hell out of it. Watching through its gaze, it turned around to find Mehrcy standing by the doors. The male narrowed his eyes when he saw he wasn't looking at Victoria.

Victoria snickered and sunk down to her knees. Playing with the water, she looked up to see the black wolf appear next to her. It licked her on the face before nuzzling its giant head under her arm. Wiping her wet fingers on its black fur, Victoria buried her face in its shoulder for a second. She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she found herself looking at Mehrcy.

Turning her gaze back at the Mook Yan Jong, she gave it a punch and felt her body remembering the moves. She threw another punch to feel her body remember the reflexes and turned back to Mehrcy.

"How long have I been in here?" she asked.

"That was the darkness just now, wasn't it?" he asked back.

Snickering again, Victoria went back to the Mook Yan Jong to see how much her body remembered. Her attempts were slow at first. But it only took her a couple of seconds before she got it.

"It would've been better if I tried it first," she mumbled to herself.

Showing no interest in the device, Victoria gave it one more punch before walking away from it. But when she walked up to Mehrcy, she hoped he would step aside. When he didn't, she tried walking around him. It was kind of hard when he filled the entire doorway. Since it didn't look like he was going to move, Victoria stepped back and placed her hands on her hips.

Scanning the male, Victoria started from head to toe when she noticed he was holding something in his left hand. It was hard to see since his hand nearly covered it but it looked like a picture. As if sensing her curiosity, Mehrcy brought it up between them and Victoria stiffened. The darkness had returned the moment Victoria saw the picture.

It was the picture she had taken in New Orleans during Mardi Gras when she met Mehrcy for the first time.

"Where did you get that?" she demanded.

"From your bag where I found the same Mardi Gras mask from ten years ago. And while I'm at it, it's where I found your laptop which I gave to Vishous to look at."

It wasn't the darkness who snapped first. Victoria practically lunged herself at Mehrcy. Catching the male by surprise, she grabbed his arm, slid her leg between his and flipped him clean over her body. Twisting his arm behind his back on his stomach, she snatched the photo from his hand and stuffed it between her waistband. When Mehrcy tried to move, Victoria moved along with him and twisted his arm even further.

"Now did I ever go through your luggage without your permission?"

"Says the woman who doesn't exist," he challenged.

Forgetting his arm, Mehrcy kicked out his legs and pushed himself around. Victoria was forced to release his arm and rolled to her back. Before she could get up, Mehrcy was on top of her and pinned her arms above her head when she tried to punch him in the face. He kept his lower body down against hers so she wouldn't try in kicking him. The only part of them free was their heads where she had attempted to head butt him.

Out of frustration, Victoria bared her teeth and a low growl came from her. The darkness growled as well to where she knew her eyes dilated. But as she looked up at Mehrcy who kept her pinned under him, she saw something. The darkness saw it as well because the both of them stared at it in awe. Mehrcy probably didn't know he was doing it because he seemed too focused on preventing a fight from breaking out. Even though they weren't big like Victoria's, Mehrcy's eyes had dilated bigger than usual. His silver eyes were still there and the pupils looked like huge orbs. And through the darkness, Victoria could see the outline of the light radiating over Mehrcy. It was thin and weak but Victoria could see the light take the form of a white wolf.

It was the darkness who reacted to the change. Through her body, it reached out to the light and Victoria watched as the light called to the dark with what little strength it had. And just like that, a surge of electricity struck through Victoria. It wasn't the kind where someone jumps back out of pain. It was the kind where she felt her feelings towards Mehrcy heightened.

Out of sudden fear, Victoria didn't know how she did it but she accidently slipped one of her knees past Mehrcy's waist and accidently kneed him in the groin.

The male stiffened for a second and rolled off. He cursed for a while as he clutched himself. Victoria rolled up and sat on her knees as she watched him. Her eyes were back to normal and she started apologizing. Mehrcy couldn't speak that all he did was grunt in her direction and finally picked himself up.

"I think I deserved that one."

He truly didn't know the light inside him was active. If he did, he would've seen the darkness inside Victoria just like how she saw the light. But since he didn't, she and the darkness thought it would be best that Mehrcy figured out how to touch the light. Besides, he was the only twin who ever had an active light. His father, Lhight, didn't feel it until the day he killed his brother and it was silenced. Sohrrow's light was practically dead since he never used it. Only Mehrcy's light was active from his years of hunting Ahnger. It would be a sight if he could call it.

Forgetting about the light, Victoria stopped her apologizing and remembered why she was furious with him. Mehrcy had the audacity to go through her things when she wasn't in the room. Countless things went through her mind. If he found her old mask from New Orleans and the picture of him, what if he decided to look through the two books she had hidden at the bottom of her suitcase? And what if V actually managed to hack her laptop? Everything she had on her and her family was on the thing and it was in the hand of the most notorious hacker known.

Victoria jumped back to her feet and made a move to the door when Mehrcy limped up and snatched her wrist. Turning around with the intention to kick him again, she found he kept a good distance between the two. He probably thought she was thinking the same thing.

"Vishous said you have some heavy security that it'll take him a while to hack through," Mehrcy told her. "Unless, you know, you tell us your password. Or you can tell us why we can't find any record on you and we can save the hacking for another time."

"I don't have to tell you shit," she hissed. She wasn't on the verge to agree to any of his terms. Everything she had on her laptop was personal. Her entire damned past was on it. There was no way in hell Victoria would let the Brotherhood get their hands on it. Part of it embarrassed her and the rest broke her. She didn't want anyone to see the dark secrets she desperately kept hidden.

"Fine. Sooner or later, Vishous will get through it and we'll all see what you have on the device."

His words almost sounded like a threat.

"Why you…you…urgh!" She couldn't come up with a word. A word in English at least. So switching to her second tongue, the words came to her with ease. "Vous pas bon trou du cul d'un homme!"

Mehrcy held up his hands the moment she started speaking French. But it was too late. Victoria was on a roll and she couldn't stop. That meant every word she spoke was French.

"Je n'ai fait que a pris votre épée. C'est tout! Il ne vous donne pas le droit d'aller fouiller dans mes affaires! Comment feriez-vous il si je suis passé par votre farcir et a volé vos sous-vêtements? Je sens tellement violé! Je devrais—"

"Enough with the bloody French! I get it! You're extremely pissed that I violated your privacy. But that doesn't give you the right to act like a child right now!"

"Fils de pute!"

Victoria started pacing. Raking her hands through her hair, she couldn't look Mehrcy in the eyes. She was a vessel of mixed emotions she was sure not even the darkness could comprehend. The only thing she could feel was anger, rage, fury, worry, fear and downright murderous.

It would take Vishous a few days since Victoria had the best computer geeks set up her security. Without the password, it would take the male four, maybe five days to hack it. That gave her five days max to get her laptop back. If not, well, she didn't want to think about that.

Stopping in the middle of her pace, Victoria turned her hard gaze on Mehrcy. There was a hint of worry in his face. Then something clicked in her head. Why wasn't V or the other Brothers in the room trying to get the password? Why was it Mehrcy who was here?

"Vous fils de pute sournois."

"Can you please talk to me in English?"

He thought she would speak English? Oh, was he in for a ride.

Taking three long strides and standing only a hairs length apart, Victoria folded her arms under her breasts that they touched his chest and looked up straight at him.

"Je vais obtenir mon ordinateur portable en arrière, je peux vous l'assurer. Et anglophones? Eh bien,vous mieux apprendre français parce que je ne suis jamais vous parle à nouveau en ce que langue. Donc, vous comprenez mieux moi quand je vous dis que je ne te pardonnerai jamais pour ce que vous avoir fait, Mehrcy, fils de Lhight."

With her messed-up emotions in tow, Victoria spun on her heel and stormed out of the training room.

* * *

Still standing in his spot, Mehrcy stared at the door Victoria left through. His mind was spinning not only from that little knee attack but from a language he had no clue about. He had gone looking for Victoria when Vishous was having a hard time hacking through her laptop. Technology wasn't his thing but he got the feeling the male never had a hard time hacking things. It was clear they needed the password to get through and Mehrcy was sure he could get the password from her.

But he had let his emotions cloud his thoughts when he found the picture and mask in Victoria's bag. He had entered her room after she had left in hopes of finding anything about her. Shoving past her clothes and the books she kept tucked away, he found the two things that reminded him of his time in New Orleans.

Perhaps it wasn't smart to start the conversation by showing her the picture. He had expected her to by mad and yell at him. He didn't expect her to tackle him to the ground and nearly break his arm off. Mehrcy also didn't expect to see fear in her eyes. Sure, they dilated and he was already used to it. But when he had her pinned under him, he saw a trace of fear that he wanted to hold her and asked what frightened her. He didn't get the chance to after her knee attack.

And now he was sure this little fight was one of many. And he got the eerie feeling the upcoming fights would be in French. He just unleashed a woman's anger upon himself. Well, Mehrcy had until the full moon. That gave him enough time to get the password from her unless Vishous managed to get through the security. Mehrcy really hoped the Brother got past the security.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

Three days later…

"She's still not talking to you?"

"She is. But not in English. I never expected her to act so childish."

"Says the male who doesn't want any help tracking his son."

Mehrcy ignored Tohrment's remark and looked at Vishous. The male had been at the laptop going on seventy hours obsessed in hacking it. Butch was playing pool with Rhage while Lassiter was watching Oprah on the TV. Ehnvy and Qhuinn waited for their turn when Rhage's ball hit one of the wrong ones and knocked it into one of the tiny nets.

Getting back on the matter with Victoria, Mehrcy didn't know what to do. After the incident in the training room, she would leave the moment he entered the same room she was in. And if she couldn't and he spoke to her, she would glare at him and speak only in French. Then he would watch her make small talk in English with the others. And every time she glared at him, Mehrcy would see a sign of betrayal.

Those eyes. Those angry eyes. Mehrcy never intended to betray Victoria. Now she wouldn't give him the chance to apologize.

A beeping sound caught everyone's attention. Even Vishous who looked like he was about to blow up the laptop turned his attention to one of his computers. Tapping away on the keyboard, the screen brought up a map and a red dot moving away.

"Where is she going?"

Mehrcy eyed Vishous. Catching he confused look, Vishous explained. "I placed a tracker on her car."

It was past the afternoon that the sun would set in a few hours and the mansion had its shutters in place. The only way how to get out was to go through the front door and there were people starting to wake up. Someone would've spotted Victoria leaving and stopped her. Watching the little dot venture further away from the mansion caused suspicion.

For half an hour, everyone watched the dot go across Caldwell. Butch, Rhage, Ehnvy, Qhuinn and Lassiter joined in on the watch until the little dot finally stopped. They all tilted their heads in question as to where the dot had stopped. Vishous typed away to make sure the tracking was right and scratched his head.

"Why would she go there?" questioned Ehnvy.

"Considering we have nothing on her, I don't have the slightest clue," answered V.

"Should we send someone after her?" Tohr suggested.

Mehrcy focused on the location. It truly was a mystery as to why Victoria would go there. But considering the place where she was, something inside him told him not to intervene. He had been getting that feeling lately. Along with knowing when Victoria was lying, Mehrcy was starting to sense her emotions and understand her. Perhaps it was the light inside him. She did have Rihgor's darkness inside her so it made sense of Mehrcy's light felt it along with Victoria's feelings. But then again, it didn't sense her nine years ago.

Yet, he knew that this had to be personal since Victoria was at a place like that. So he thought better and gave his suggestion.

"I think we should wait for a while."

The others looked up at him. He gave a nod towards the computer. When the others looked back at the screen, they seemed to understand. Tohr left to go tell Wrath about the situation and to tell the king they would see what her next move would be. Until then, Mehrcy stayed by the computer and watched the red dot.

Victoria was at a cemetery.

* * *

It had taken Victoria a while before leaving the car. It took more just to get out of her bed and drive all the way down to the cemetery. The day hadn't passed her mind. In fact, it was all she could think about when she woke up. Majority of her wanted to stay under her covers and hide until the day had passed. But the tiny piece of her knew it wouldn't be right if she didn't come. So she risked it and left the mansion. She didn't bother checking to see if her car was bugged. She wasn't in the mood to check for childish things. Especially today.

Driving close to an hour, Victoria pulled up to the parking lot and sat in her car. Sitting in it for another ten minutes, she took a shaky breath and got out.

Closing the door behind her, she looked around. Her car was the only one in the parking lot. Brushing a strand of hair from her face, Victoria brought her arms around herself even though she wasn't cold. She felt extremely warm actually. But it would've been disrespectful if she showed up in jeans and a flashy top. Instead, she wore a black wool and cashmere coat and black pants with black Aquatalia booties she could run in. Under the coat was a black silk scoop neck tunic. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, Victoria walked up to the vendor and paid for a bouquet of dark crimson roses. Gently wrapping the roses, the old man handed Victoria the bouquet and she left him the change. She then waked through the iron gate and down the pebbled path.

The only sound heard throughout the place was her feet crunching in the snow. For a while, Victoria walked down the path until she turned from it and passed a few headstones. Coming up to a headstone, she stopped. It rested under a tree complete covered in snow. The tree still had its leaves so the tree looked like it had a cloud resting on it. Some snow had fallen on the headstone where the name was covered up.

Victoria kicked the snow around before sitting on her knees. Placing the bouquet on her knees and reaching over to the headstone, she took her bare hand and wiped the snow from the name. She didn't stop until the last drop of snow no longer rested on one letter. Settling back on her knees, she gave the name a tired smile as if she were looking at the person herself.

"Hey, mom."

* * *

Since Victoria hadn't moved in a long time, once the sun went down, some of the Brother along with Mehrcy appeared at the cemetery. Parking the Escalade next to Victoria's Spyder, she had to be around since her car was covered in snow. Before they came, Vishous had printed out a map of the cemetery. The place was huge and would've taken them half the night searching the grounds when a Vishous had looked up any sights with the last name of Bishop.

Turned out there was only one name.

As they walked down the path, Mehrcy felt his stomach twist. It had been hard for Vishous to find the name since he had to dig deep in the archives. It seemed whatever information about the person had been scrubbed to the point where Vishous managed to find reports that had been written by hand and entered into the system nearly a decade ago. Mehrcy didn't see the hiding as a coincidence. He had a feeling it was the same thing that made it difficult to find anything on Victoria.

The group walked for a while when Vishous followed the map off the path. The feeling was becoming unbearable. Trying to ignore it, Mehrcy decided to look up. It was still snowing that it looked as if the dark clouds were crying. As Mehrcy brought his head down to look straight, he saw a tree with leaves holding a huge mass of snow. And as he looked further down, he saw a dark figure under it. He wasn't he only one to stop. The others stopped in their tracks when they saw the figure.

Something inside him ached in pain.

Mehrcy wasn't aware of his actions but he pushed past the Brothers and almost ran up to Victoria. For some reason she had fallen asleep and was curled up on her side next to the headstone. Covered in snow, her wet cheeks and fresh tears were the only things remaining unfrozen. Looking above her, Mehrcy saw the roses. With a hint of black, the dark crimson roses struck a deep cord in Mehrcy. He then looked at the name the roses were placed next to.

Evelyn Bishop. Beloved mother.

He had seen his share of those roses. Dark crimson roses were like a double blade. One might give to the one they love but the other was a harsher truth. Placed on the grave of a loved one was only meant for a time of sadness and mourning.

This had to be the reason why it was so hard getting the last name Bishop. It was Victoria's mother.

Kneeling beside her, Mehrcy gently picked her up. Still deep in sleep, Victoria reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. Snuggling against his chest, she sighed and slept. Mehrcy wiped some snow off her body and made sure he had a tight hold so he wouldn't drop her. Surging to his feet and turning around, he saw the Brothers in front of him, looking at the headstone.

"I think you just got your password," he whispered to V.

The male barely nodded.

With Victoria in his arm, he walked past the group and back to the Escalade. As he walked, a presence rolled off of Victoria. Mehrcy had a good guess what it was that was reaching out to him. He could feel the sadness in its touch. And just like that, Mehrcy was back in the bayou. And sitting on a log staring down at the water was the black wolf.

"So now you know," it said.

"Know what?"

The wolf turned its head. Mehrcy saw the sadness he felt and realized it was coming from the wolf. There was sadness and pain in those black eyes. He even saw the signs of one who mourns for a lost one in the wolf's eyes. Mehrcy now understood why Victoria sounded so insulted when darkness couldn't feel. He was looking at the one that lived inside her and saw the emotions were real. Even when the wolf spoke he could hear the hurt in its voice.

"You now know one of Victoria's secrets." The wolf turned its head and went back to staying into the water. "The Bishop women never had a happy life. Living a life on lies and false hope, they suffered like no other. But Victoria suffered the most. She experienced what a child should never experience."

"What would that be?"

"It's not my place to say. Even though I helped commit the act, it is Victoria's story to tell. I can't break her trust. I'm the only one she has left."

The wolf's words startled Mehrcy. Now he felt like a true fool in his believes towards darkness. He didn't know if this was like for Ahnger but he could hear the truth in the darkness's words. It cared deeply for Victoria when he thought of it as nothing but madness. Everything he believed no longer existed.

"Why do you care for her so much?" he asked. He had to at least know why.

The wolf shook its head and made a tiring sound. "I'm old, Mehrcy, son of Lhight. I, too, have my secrets only Victoria knows and no one else. I will not show myself to you expect for this. We both are tired of the Scribe Virgin's game. I stopped playing years ago and found someone who wouldn't play as well. Don't break Victoria's heart. It's fragile as it is and it seems she still holds a shred of trust towards you. Get your answers from her for this will be the first and last time we speak."

Closing his eyes and reopening them, Mehrcy was back in the real world standing in front of the Escalade with Victoria in his arms. Looking down at her, he saw a tear sliding down her cheek. Bringing his hand up, he wiped away the tear. As he did, his mind went through the wolf's words.

Mehrcy had always known Victoria hid things. The sharp, aggressive, silver-tonged woman who saved and challenged him was a powerful shield to hide the broken person she really was. Broken and afraid to let anyone come too close, Victoria used her deceit so well to the point where she no longer worried about lowering her guard. Now Mehrcy understood why even though he didn't know the whole story.

And he would find out. He would find out what hurt Victoria so much that she would fall asleep crying in the snowy night. And he would no longer ignore what he felt towards the woman. Mehrcy would help Victoria through anything if it meant she would be happy at last. And perhaps with him.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

Mehrcy stared down at his lap.

After returning back to the mansion, no one asked questions. Mehrcy took Victoria to the room he was given and had just tucked her in his bed when he remembered the books in her suitcase. They had been buried at the bottom with everything on top. It seemed those books were so important to her that she would place them at the bottom in case someone went through her things. Mehrcy had done just that and overlooked them when he went through her things.

Taking her shoes and coat back to her room, Mehrcy collected the books and brought them back with him. One was small that it barely reached past his hand. The other was enormous. Cladded in leather, the book was heavy from the leather and there were many pages in it. Placing the small one on the table next to his chair, Mehrcy took a seat and placed the book on his lap. He had every intention of opening it. Now he wasn't so sure since he had been staring at the book for twenty minutes.

Placing a shaky hand on the cover, Mehrcy took a deep breath. Then curling his fingers around the edges, he lifted the cover.

He now understood why there were so many pages. It was a picture book.

On the first page were to laminated pictures. One was a pregnant girl. She looked no older than seventeen when the picture was taken. Her auburn hair was short and barely reached past her shoulders. She smiled to the camera even though her dark blue eyes showed how tired she looked. Taking in the picture, Mehrcy noticed it had to be taken in an apartment. There were boxes everywhere and furniture that looked like they had been shoved aside to take the picture. The other thing Mehrcy noticed was that it was only the girl in the picture. There was no adult with her or the man of her child.

It was only the girl.

Looking at the other picture, it was the same girl in a hospital with a baby in her arms. The baby was asleep in its mother's arm as she looked down at it with a smile. Great joy shined in her eyes that Mehrcy nearly missed a shadow in them. Looking closer, he say the faint traces of darkness in her eyes. Looking back at the baby, Mehrcy traced his fingers over the photo. The baby just had to be born and he could see the line of light blond hair on its head.

The girl had to be Evelyn Bishop and the baby in her arms must've been Victoria.

Flipping the page over, Mehrcy saw many photos of Evelyn and Victoria. Starting out as an infant, Victoria seemed to have been raised only by her mother for Mehrcy never saw anyone else. Starting from infancy going on to child, the pictures showed happy faces of mother and daughter. Under some pictures were labeled with dates and special events like birthdays, first lost tooth, first day of school and so on. Mehrcy watched as Victoria grew up in every picture. She was always smiling and there wasn't a hint of darkness in her eyes like her mother. As for Evelyn, only Mehrcy could spot the darkness growing in each picture.

As Mehrcy flipped through the pages, he noticed there were some pictures when Victoria was drawing. The first ones were with crayons drawn by a five-year-old and the others were terrible sketches drawn by a ten-year-old. In every picture she used black to draw a figure and blue as the eyes. When Mehrcy got closer to the end, he saw a better drawing done from Victoria on her fifteenth birthday. It wasn't as terrible but not perfect. The drawing was of a black figure running and this was the only picture that had a colored background. The colors were a mix between green and brown which made the black stand out and the eyes of the figure were dark blue.

It seemed Victoria had already known about the darkness before she wasn't fully aware of it. Besides the fact she wasn't an artist, Victoria was drawing the darkness in its wolf form since she was five.

Coming to the last two pages, there was one picture for each page. On the left was a picture that had a label saying first day of high school at the bottom. In the picture was Victoria and Evelyn. Victoria was only an inch or two smaller than her mother and she had her hair tied in a ponytail to show off her wide dark blue eyes. Smiling wide, her white teeth could've shined if they could. Evelyn stood next to her daughter with her hair in a low ponytail that hung over her shoulder. Her bangs curled around her eyes and she gave off a soft smile. With her hands on her daughter's shoulders, she stood behind Victoria and looked at the camera. But her eyes were barely like her daughters. They were darker than usual that Mehrcy had a feeling it was the darkness finally taking over.

Looking at the picture on the right, Mehrcy's eyes narrowed. It was another picture of Evelyn and she looked the same from the first picture he saw. However, there was a boy with her. Looking the same age as her, the boy sat next to Evelyn and held out his arm like he was taking a picture. He had wispy light blond hair that curled around his face, ears and around his neck and his eyes were dark green. In the background of the picture were people sitting at table and waiter walking around with trays over their heads. Mehrcy couldn't miss the fact that the waiters were wearing aprons around their waists and paper hats on their heads. The other thing he couldn't miss was because he had seen the green canopy a thousand times when he was in New Orleans.

When he had been in city, he spent most of his night eating at the one place open twenty-four seven next to Jackson Square. With its floor covered in powdered sugar and hot during the summer no matter how fast the fans were working, Café Du Monde was the one place any tourist would have to visit during their time in New Orleans. Mehrcy should know. He basically ate at the café every night he was there.

Closing the book, he placed it on the table and rubbed his eyes. When Mehrcy drew back his hand, he looked over and caught a glimpse of the smaller book. The book had been hidden as well which meant it was important to Victoria. Inspecting the cover, the book was also covered in leather and seemed more worn than the picture book. Taking the book and turning it around in his hand, Mehrcy quickly realized it wasn't a book since there were no pages. It almost reminded him of a picture case a person could carry around with them.

Opening the case, Mehrcy looked inside. He almost dropped it.

Inside the case was an old drawing which had been laminated to protect it from the elements. The drawing was so life like that one would believe someone had posed to take it but that was impossible. Mehrcy knew it had to be impossible. And yet, here he was staring at the picture. How long had it been since he had seen him? How many nights had he tried to remember what he looked like even though they were identical? How much did Mehrcy miss the one person who was his reflection?

The drawing was of Rihgor.

Someone knocked on the door.

Snapping the case shut and placing it on the table, Mehrcy bolted up and was at the door when he realized his face was wet. Touching his cheeks, he felt it moist from tears and quickly wiped them away when he opened the door. Sohrrow stood on the other side and nodded his head down the hallway. Stepping out and easing the door behind him, Mehrcy followed his son who led him to the study.

Once they were there, it seemed they were the last to show up since all the Brothers were accounted for. Taking a look at Vishous, Mehrcy noticed a grave look on his face and turned away when he saw Mehrcy looking at him. It seemed Victoria's mother's name was the password since they were all in one place. Mehrcy just didn't want to know if he wanted to know what Vishous found out on her laptop.

Leaning against one of the couches, Mehrcy waited to hear what the Brother found. The others waited as well since Vishous hadn't spoken yet. When he looked around, he shook his head.

"I think I get why we couldn't find anything on her."

"Why?" asked Wrath.

"Because everything on her and her family was put on her laptop. Someone had rigged the device to transfer everything to it and alert her if anyone decided to look up anything on her or any relatives. I even found videos from YouTube of her she had wiped from public and placed on her laptop. Victoria went out of her way to make sure no one found her no matter what."

Mehrcy couldn't help himself. Out of sheer curiosity, he asked Vishous how old the videos were and he answered without a second thought. When he said they were nine years old, Mehrcy wasn't aware he sighed and started rubbing his eyes. Someone asked him why he had asked and it took him a while to collect himself.

"Were those videos in New Orleans?" he asked.

Vishous's nodded.

The picture. The mask. Victoria defiantly had been in New Orleans the time he was. No wonder the Scribe Virgin sounded so angry when she said Victoria had let him go twice. They had literally bumped into one another during Mardi Gras and parted ways just as fast. Perhaps the light inside him was so weak and used to sensing Ahnger that it failed to pick up Righor's darkness. The only thing going through his mind was that he could've ended his trouble nine years ago. And yet, he got the eerie feeling things would've ended the same way if he had known her back then.

"Father?" called Sohrrow.

"Yeah, about that. Like I said, I was in New Orleans nine years ago. When I gave you that laptop I found some things I remembered seeing there. Turns out I bumped into Victoria when I was there looking for Ahnger. I just didn't know who she was and I was already leaving the city since Ahnger was no longer there. I haven't thought of that day ever since."

Some nodded their heads in acknowledgment. But it seemed Sohrrow was far from forgiving his father because he glared at him. The rift between the two had just grown larger because of Mehrcy's little secret the others seemed to overlook.

"You saw her nine years ago and you couldn't sense her?" he challenged. Nightmahre, Ehnvy and Phride tried to calm down their brother but he shook them off. "First we think you and Ahnger are dead and now the both of you are alive and have been trying to kill one another for nearly a century. Then we find out our family is cursed with a darkness that will take over a twin and a human has the same darkness inside her. Now you say you actually came face to face with her nine years ago and still she has the darkness which once belonged to your brother. What else have you kept secret from us?"

Something inside Mehrcy reared its head. When Sohrrow had practically yelled at him, Mehrcy felt something deep down inside him react to his son's words and wanted to teach him a lesson for taking his rage on his father and Victoria. It was so strong that when Mehrcy turned his head to Sohrrow, he felt it snap its jaws at his son. And when he laid eyes on Sohrrow, there was a faint light enshrouding him. It was so faint it was transparent. But Mehrcy knew he was seeing the light in his son. That meant the feeling inside him which was telling him to make his son bow and forgive wasn't him.

It seemed the light inside Mehrcy finally woke up for good.

Not knowing how Victoria managed to control the darkness, Mehrcy tried to tell it to calm down. The only problem was that he didn't know what he was telling to calm down. He could feel the light grow stronger by the second and its desire to defend its opposite. All Mehrcy had to do was tell it to take a moment to relax and he would get through the meeting. Luckily, he felt it back down and turn the other way. However, he did feel it look at him in disappointment before disappearing back to wherever it came from.

"I was too busy looking for Ahnger and I didn't know about her or the fact that she had the darkness. Don't hold me accountable for something I didn't know until just recently. Besides, I already told you the Scribe Virgin wouldn't so much as see me when I wanted to know if my brother's darkness was in someone else."

Sohrrow shook his head and looked away. Mehrcy groaned in annoyance when he felt the light jump back and snarl. He would defiantly have to talk to Victoria about her control. All he could do was ignore it and hope to not give in to its impulses.

"What else did you find?" asked Wrath.

"Nothing good." Vishous eyed Mehrcy to see if it was okay to speak. The male nodded and V continued to speak. "Well, I quickly went through her financials and found out she's rich as a billionaire. It seems her family had done some business in France back then and earned their money which continued to grow over the centuries. But I couldn't find anything before her ancestors migrated to France. Besides that, it seems that the Bishop line are only women."

"You made it sound like you found something terrible. All of that is quite the opposite," stated Phury.

"Maybe because that's the only good thing. It goes downhill once the woman has a child of age which they can take of themselves."

"What happens?" Rhage asked.

"They kill themselves."

The room immediately went silent.

As the others took in the information, Mehrcy felt the light howl in anger and he couldn't help himself but agree with it. He didn't need to be told why the women killed themselves when their child was of age. The only answer was the darkness. It probably overwhelmed the host to the point where they went mad and sought death to end its madness. It was a wonder how Victoria had managed to survive so long. All she had told him was that she and the darkness had a common goal. He wondered how far that goal would go once the Scribe Virgin released its full power on her.

"And Victoria herself?"

Vishous hesitated for a second. "Well, I found some news articles saying her mom tried to kill her when she was fifteen and then killed herself when she failed to take her daughter. I then found papers of her being sent to an orphanage since she had no relatives. She had stayed there and left when she turned sixteen. After that, she fell off the grid. But her year at the orphanage came with incidents which involved the police a few times."

"What kind of incidents?" This time it was Mehrcy who asked.

"She was known to get into fights. The reports said there were times where she just broke some kids' fingers to breaking their legs. Besides the bone breaking, there were reports saying where she would bite people when they got too close. She stayed by herself and bothered nobody. The ones that got hurt either started something or she was just in a bad mood when they were around. But there was this case where when one kid tried to beat her that some people didn't know whether she or an animal sent him to the hospital. The kid had multiple bite and claw marks the police described only a dog would make. The kid said she did it of course and the report said they couldn't get a word out of Victoria. Then a few weeks later she turned sixteen and disappeared.

"Going through her files, I found out she paid for a plane ticket and headed to New Orleans. The only time she came back to Caldwell was six years later and she jumped back on a plane the same day of Nightmahre and Gabrielle's mating ceremony. Two years later and she returns the day when she finds Mehrcy. I checked her financials and found out she was on the verge of leaving the same day we found her place."

"That's around the time we showed up," spoke Nightmahre. Ehnvy and Phride nodded while Sohrrow stayed still.

"So Victoria shows up not long after the four of you do and takes off when she gets the feeling you and your brothers are staying," speaks out Wrath. "After two years, she thinks it's safe to return only to sense a threat and feels the need to flee. From the sound of it, Victoria's being trying half her life avoiding you, Mehrcy."

Mehrcy raised an eyebrow.

"But why run and not return for six years? And if you say you saw her in New Orleans, why didn't she take off the moment she made contact?"

Mehrcy wished for the answers to those two questions and many more he had. The only problem was that Victoria spoke lies like they were the truth and it would take a while before she actually spoke the truth. Mehrcy had caught her telling the truth a couple of times but she mostly told lies to hide things. Hearing about her past told him why she lied. But he didn't want to hear it coming from Vishous. Mehrcy wanted to hear her own words and reason why she would go to great lengths to hide herself.

It was starting to get annoying every time he thought of Victoria and the light pounced at the idea. Trying his best to shove it back, the light fought back in an attempt to stay on the surface. He sensed it rear its head and snap its jaws at him. When Mehrcy closed his eyes, he opened them only to find him standing in Canal Street.

He knew it wasn't real. In fact, it reminded him of the time when he was in the bayou with the black wolf. The other thing that helped tell him the street was fake was because no one was around. The last time in New Orleans Mehrcy knew there were people in the city any time of the day. Seeing it empty was taboo.

Hearing a low growl coming from behind him, Mehrcy turned and his eyes widened. Standing behind him was a white wolf. Unlike the black wolf who looked like a full grown wolf, the white wolf was slightly smaller and skinner. Its fur wasn't fluffy and the size of its paws meant it still had time to grow up. With its huge ears perked up, the wolf kept its head down as it growled at Mehrcy.

"You have got to be kidding me," said Mehrcy.

The wolf snapped its jaws.

"So the darkness can speak to me but you can't so much as make a sound without snapping? I thought light was more in control than its opposite."

Again the wolf growled. However, it almost sounded like it was trying to speak. It didn't have to. All Mehrcy had to do was look in its white eyes and understand what it wished to say. The light was still young inside him that it was acting out of control. Slightly making sense, Mehrcy understood why the wolf looked like a youngling unlike Victoria's. She had been using the darkness basically her whole life while Mehrcy's just awakened. Compared to the darkness, the light was still in its adolescence. So compared to the full grown black wolf, the white wolf still had some time before turning into an adult.

"Why are you being so snappy all of a sudden? Not once in my entire life did you every make an appearance. Why the sudden change in your behavior?"

Instead of snarling or baring its fangs, the white wolf raised its head and sat down on its haunches. Keepings its ears perked straight up, the wolf's eyes studied Mehrcy as if seeing him for the first time.

"Perhaps…"tried the wolf. It shook its head for a second as it learned how to speak. "Perhaps I am tired of sleeping and finding out how weak I truly am." The wolf stopped for a second and nodded to agree with its own words. "I have seen the darkness fight and it is strong just like its host. You are strong yet I am weak. Not once have I seen battle for I was never needed just like before. Your father, Lhight, killed his brother without my help and you have not sought my help to kill both Rihgor and Ahnger. You were born to be strong and you have trained to be a might warrior. I have neither the strength nor experience. Even light can become jealous if it wanted to be."

"And what is it with you wanting to attack anyone who talks bad about Victoria?"

"Those aren't my emotions, warrior. I want to be equals with my darkness. It is you who want to attack those so you can defend your female's pride no matter what. I just react to your instincts."

Mehrcy was taken aback by the wolf's words. He had been sure it was the light that wanted to attack his son. But as he listened to those words in his mind, Mehrcy came to realize it wasn't the light that reacted. The only time he had felt the urge to attack a male when the both of them were only talking was when Ahva was still alive. Mehrcy wanted to be the one to put the male in place when they had insulted his former shellan even if it was by accident.

That's exactly what he wanted to do when Sohrrow started accusing Victoria. And the more he realized it, the more how he felt the urge to leave the meetings and go back to her. Mehrcy had seen Victoria vulnerable and that had sent a wave of pain through his heart. He wanted to be there when she woke up and comfort her. He wanted to get to know her better so she would no longer saw it best to lie.

Shaking his head, Mehrcy looked away from the wolf. The wolf didn't seem to care because it stood up and walked over to him. Sitting back on its haunches, it looked up at the sky where a full moon hung over them.

"Why are we here?" asked Mehrcy.

"Why do you think the darkness prefers the bayou? It holds some meaning to it and Victoria. You liked New Orleans more than the places you traveled to and this was the place where I started to doubt my own strength."

The moon shined bright above them. Taking in its bright light, Mehrcy closed his eyes and opened them to find himself back in the room. When it felt like he had been in his mind for ten minutes, the world around him only passed by in seconds. Mehrcy found himself back in the talk over Victoria.

Having grown tired of their talk, Mehrcy left his spot and started walking over to the door. Victoria would be up soon and he would see to it he would be there when she did. The others could make assumptions about her when he was gone. The wolf's words were clear in his mind and he could feel his temper starting to spike. Since it wasn't the light that wanted to thrash out, Mehrcy would have to get a better hold on his emotions. It was one thing to yell at a person but it was a whole different thing if he killed someone if they said the wrong thing.

* * *

Dreaming of nothing, Victoria once again retreated back to the bayou. Instead of waking the world in her mind, she laid on the ground and stared up at the starry sky. She ran her fingers through the wolf's black fur when it lifted its heavy head and rested it on her chest. Releasing a sigh, the wolf closed its eyes and leaned against her hand.

The darkness had told Victoria what it had said to Mehrcy. Victoria thought she would be angry only to find herself completely calm. It was only a matter of time before the Brotherhood found out about parts of her past. They would've found out about her family's history and the unfortunate turn of events when a Bishop child was of age. Victoria was also betting money that they found those false reports on her mother. That was what the public knew. They didn't know the truth.

Feeling the wolf move under her fingers, Victoria raised her hand when it stood up and walked around her. Standing above her, the wolf whined as it laid back down to where Victoria's head rested against its pelt and the wolf placed its head on her shoulder. Using her other hand, Victoria started rubbing between the wolf's ears and she watched its black eyes close.

Victoria knew she couldn't hide in the bayou forever. She would have to return back to her world and face whatever came at her. Part of her told her she could handle it like how she's handled most of her live. But the other part of her told her she was close to the breaking point. Victoria knew her past was coming back at her and with her past would her wants surface and she didn't want anyone to know her wants were.

Especially Mehrcy.

Patting the wolf on the head, Victoria closed her eyes and opened them to find herself staring at a ceiling. Rolling to her side, she found herself in a bed in a dark room. Victoria was slightly uncomfortable being in an actual bed but she didn't feel like complaining. As her eyes adjusted to the dark room, she noticed there was a lamp resting on a table lit up parts of the room to cast shadows. Under the lit lamp was the photo book and the picture case rested on top. Then a noise by the door across the room caught her attention. Under the door was a stream of light and it was turned off when someone opened the door and closed it.

Mehrcy had his back to Victoria as he walked to one of the drawers. He had a towel resting around his neck and all he was wearing were pants. Victoria got a good look at the male. There was barely any skin on him not touched by scars. Some Victoria could tell were made by Ahnger's blades and some looked so old they nearly faded into his skin. As Mehrcy picked up his hair to tie it, Victoria's eyes latched onto the name carved in his back.

Ahva.

Rolling around so her back faced him, Victoria felt something sting her eyes. She had figured the male had a shellan since he had five sons and probably lost her since she wasn't around. Logic told her to calm down and not got overworked about it. But her feelings ruled over logic and a sense of jealousy washed over Victoria. No one knew how much she cared for Mehrcy that it was eating her up in the inside. Seeing his former shellan's named burned into his skin made the feeling worse.

"Have you ever thought of cutting your hair?" she called out.

Victoria could sense Mehrcy tense when she spoke. He probably thought she was still asleep. Victoria's cheeks burned when she heard him chuckle.

"It's not that long."

Not planning on talking to him with her back, Victoria rolled over to face him. There was a cocky smile on his face that she couldn't help herself but smile. Rolling her eyes, Victoria looked back at the ceiling.

"It reaches your mid-thigh. Any longer and it'll reach the floor. You of all people should know that long hair makes it difficult to fight with."

"Is that why yours is so short?"

"I never looked good with long hair. Having it short makes it easier to move and see considering my line of work."

Another chuckle came from Mehrcy.

"Is that the music playing or the fighting?"

This time Victoria didn't bother holding back. She laughed a bit. "I prefer the first than the latter."

Tossing the towel, Mehrcy took a seat at the edge of the bed. Using the headboard for support, Victoria sat up and leaned against it. She could sense the male wanted to ask her questions but had the courtesy to wait. Victoria decided to speak to start things off.

"I'm guessing you found out about me."

Mehrcy nodded. "We figured out your password after finding you," he answered. "Vishous told us about the money, trips to and from New Orleans, your ancestry and what happened to you when you were fifteen."

The truth would come sooner than she thought.

"And you think my mom tried to kill me?" she asked. Mehrcy looked conflicted when he tried choosing his words. Victoria was touched by his concern of not hurting her feelings.

"All we know is that the Bishop women would kill themselves when their child could take care of themselves. I don't know what happened to you all those years ago and I don't want to make assumptions. All I know is what was written in the papers."

Not looking Mehrcy in the eye, Victoria thumbed the blankets. She had let the reporters think her mom had tried to kill her and killed herself when she failed. It had been easy to let them think that until she was put in the orphanage. Turned out news got around and she had one hellish year in that shithole. But for ten years Victoria had stayed silent to what really happened that night. Hearing Mehrcy saying exactly what everyone else had set weighed heavily on her. This was one thing she didn't want to keep secret anymore.

She owed it to her mom.

"Part of the story is true," she said.

"Victoria, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No. I think it's time someone heard what really happened that night."

Victoria was too caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Mehrcy leaning forward and placing his hand on top of hers. Looking up at him, she could see a kindred spirit in his silver eyes. Victoria reminded herself that he too had lost people close to him. Through the darkness, Victoria knew he cared for his twin, Rihgor, and loved his son, Ahnger. The look of hurt in his eyes nearly broke her but she couldn't. Victoria could never let Mehrcy know how much she cared for him.

He could never know that her love for him was so strong that it was breaking her heart.

"Ten years ago, my mom finally succumbed to the darkness," she started. "Usually, the daughter can sense when its time and leaves so their life isn't endangered. But I was a fool and stayed when I knew I should've left. I thought my mom loved me enough to fight off the darkness. But like those before her, she was weak and it consumed her. She screamed out in pain, begging for it to end. I tried to help her. I tried to tell her it was okay. But it was too late. She was already gone."

"Is that when she tried to kill you?" whispered Mehrcy.

"Yeah. I got too close and she attacked me. She took her bare hands and started strangling me. I cried for her to stop. I begged her to fight back. But I might as well have been the darkness itself because she didn't let go out. She screamed at me, yelling how much she hated her life and the burden the darkness placed on her. All her fears came out the more she tightened her hold on me. I would've died that night. I would've died if she had held on longer."

"Victoria…"

"But then it happened. The darkness inside me attacked and that was the end. It ended just as fast as it had started."

Not having the strength to look at him in the eye, Victoria looked down at the blankets when she spoke.

"It wasn't the darkness that did it. It was me. I killed my mom."


End file.
